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R     INFORMATION     SERIES 


No.  9 


<S 


October,  1917 


Home  Reading  Course 


for 


CITIZEN-SOLDIERS 


PREPARED  BY 

THE  WAR  DEPARTMENT 


uC/  5. 


Published  by  COMMITTEE  On}pUBLIC  INFORMATION^Vi^ggffl^lfpnr^^^l 

*e:l ^-0  ~^> 

I 

■13  193^1^ 


WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT  PR'NTIK'G  OFRCE 

1917 


# 


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University  of  California 

Southern  Regional 

Library  Facility 


V 


THE  COMMITTEE  ON  PUBLIC  INFORMATION 

(Established  by  order  of  the  President  April  14,  1917.) 

Distributes    free,    except    as    noted,    the    following 

publications : 

I.  Red,  White,  and  Blue  Series: 

No.  1.  How  the  War  Came  to  America  (English,  German,  Polish, 
Bohemian,  Italian,  Spanish,  and  Swedish). 

No.  2.  National  Ser^dce  Handbook  (primarily  for  libraries, 
schools,  Y.  M.  C.  A.'s,  clubs,  fraternal  organizations, 
etc.,  as  a  guide  and  reference  work  on  all  forms  of  war 
activity,  civil,  charitable,  and  military). 

No.  3.  The  Battle  Line  of  Democracy.  Prose  and  Poetry  of  the 
Great  War.     Sold  at  cost.     Price,  15  cents. 

No.  4.  The    President's    Flag    Day    Speech    Avith    Evidence    of 
Germany's  Plans. 
Other  issues  in  preparation . 

II.  War  Information  Series: 

No.    1.  The  War  Message  and  Facts  Behind  It. 
No.    2.  The  Nation  in  Arms,  by  Secretaries  Lane  and  Baker. 
No.    3.  The  Government  of  Germany,  by  Prof.  Charles  D.  Hazen. 
No.    4.  The  Great  War:  from  Spectator  to  Participant,   by  Prof. 

A.  C.  McLaughlin. 
No.    5.  A  War  of  Self  Defense,  by  Secretary  Lansing  and  Assistant 

Secretary  of  Labor  Louis  F.  Post. 
No.    6.  American  Loyalty  by  Citizens  of  German  Descent. 
No.    7.  Amerikanische  Burgertreue.     A  translation  of  No.  6. 
No.    8.  American    Interest  in    Popular   Government   Abroad,    by 

Prof.  E.  B.  Greene. 
No.    9.  Home  Reading  Course  for  Citizen-Soldiers. 
No.  10.  First  Session  of  the  War  Congress,  by  Charles  Merz. 
Other  issues  will  appear  shortly. 

III.  Offical  Bulletin: 

Accurate  daily  statement  of  what  all  agencies  of  government  are 
doing  in  war  times.     Sent  free  to  newspapers  and  postmasters 
(to  be   put   on   bulletin   boards[.     Subscription   price  $5   per 
year. 
Address  requests  and  orders  to 

COMMITTEE  ON  PUBLIC  INFORMATION, 

Washington,  D.  C. 


SRLF 
YRL 


^miuo5 


HOME-READING  COURSE  FOR 
CITIZEN-SOLDIERS- 


This  course  of  30  daily  lessons  is  offered  to  the  men  selected  for  service  in  the  National 
Army  as  a  practical  help  in  getting  started  in  the  right  way.  It  is  informal  in  tone  and 
does  not  attempt  to  give  binding  rules  and  directions.  These  are  contained  in  the  various 
manuals  and  regulations  of  the  United  States  Army,  to  which  this  course  is  merely  introductory. 


LESSON  1. 

YOUR  POST  OF  HONOR. 

You  are  called  to  serve  as  a  soldier  in  the  National  Army,  because 
that  is  one  of  3^our  obligations  as  a  citizen  of  the  United  States.  The 
citizens  of  a  republic  must  always  be  ready  in  the  hour  of  need  to 
leave  their  own  homes  and  take  up  arms  in  defense  of  their  rights 
and  principles.  Otherwise  the  Kepublic  could  not  long  continue  to 
exist.  The  men  who  now  enter  military  service  deserve  the  gratitude 
and  respect  of  their  fellow  citizens. 

You  are  doubtless  making  a  heavy  sacrifice  in  order  to  perform 
this  duty  to  your  country.  Hundreds  of  thousands  of  other  young- 
men  and  their  families  are  face  to  face  wath  similar  sacrifices.  All 
our  citizens  will  sooner  or  later  be  called  upon,  each  to  bear  his  or 
her  share  of  the  burden.  Men  and  women,  rich  and  poor,  all  alike 
must  do  whatever  is  necessary  and  must  give  up  whatever  is  neces- 
sary. For  no  personal  interests  or  feelings  can  be  permitted  to  stand 
in  the  way  at  a  time  Avhen  the  safety  and  honor  of  the  country  are  at 
stake. 

As  a  citizen  soldier  3  ou  are  chosen  for  a  post  of  special  distinction. 
America  is  justly  proud  of  the  soldiers  of  the  past  who  have  won  for 
us  the  rights  to-day  denied  and  put  in  serious  danger  b}'  the  high- 
handed attacks  of  the  German  Government.  America  will  be  no  less 
proud  of  you,  as  you  fight  to  uphold  those  rights. 

Your  personal  responsibility  is  great.  As  warfare  is  to-day  con- 
ducted, the  individual  soldier  counts  for  more  than  ever  before. 
Your  own  skill  and  bravery,  no  matter  how  humble  your  rank,  may 
easily  be  important  factors  in  deciding  whether  an  engagement  is  to 
be  w^on  or  lost.  You  can  not  depend  upon  anyone  else  to  carry  this 
personal  responsibility  for  you ;  you  must  depend  upon  yourself. 

(3) 


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SOME  AMERICAN  SOLDIERS. 


Americans  are  well-fitted  to  meet  this  test.  During  the  Civil  War, 
at  the  battle  of  Antietam,  the  Seventh  Maine  Infantry  lay,  hugging 
the  ground,  under  a  furious  storm  of  shot  and  shell.  Private  Knox, 
who  was  a  wonderful  shot,  asked  leave  to  move  nearer  the  enemy. 
For  an  hour  afterwards  his  companions  heard  his  rifle  crack  every 
few  minutes.  His  commanding  officer  finally,  from  curiosity,  "  crept 
forward  to  see  what  he  was  doing,  and  found  that  he  had  driven 
every  man  away  from  one  section  of  a  Confederate  battery,  tumbling 
over  gimner  after  gunner  as  they  came  forward  to  fire.  *  *  *  At 
the  end  of  an  hour  or  so,  a  piece  of  shell  took  off  the  breech  of  his  pet 
rifle,  and  he  returned  disconsolate ;  but  after  a  few  minutes  he  gath- 
ered three  rifles  that  were  left  by  wounded  men  and  went  back 


agam." 


In  the  Confederate  armies  individual  soldiers  were  no  less  skillful, 
cool,  and  brave.    On  both  sides  they  were  Americans. 

Here  are  a  few  cases  quoted  from  official  records.  You  must  read 
between  the  lines  to  get  the  full  benefit  of  the  stories  they  tell  of  re- 
sourcefulness and  courage : 

On  June  9,  1862,  Private  John  Gray,  Fifth  Ohio  Infantry, 
"mounted  on  an  artillery  horse  of  the  enemy  and  captured  a  brass 
G-pound  piece,  in  the  face  of  the  enemy's  fire,  and  brought  it  to  the 


rear." 


On  October  12, 1863,  Private  Michael  Dougherty,  Thirteenth  Penn- 
sylvania Cavalry,  "  at  the  head  of  a  detachment  of  his  company, 
dashed  across  an  open  field,  exposed  to  a  deadly  fire  from  the  enemy, 
and  succeeded  in  dislodging  them  from  an  unoccupied  house,  which 
he  and  his  comrades  defended  for  several  hours  against  repeated  at- 
tacks, thus  preventing  the  enemy  from  flanking  the  position  of  the 
Union  forces." 

From  May  8  to  11,  1864,  Private  John  B.  Lynch,  Third  Indiana 
Cavalry,  "carried  important  dispatches  from  the  President  to  Gen. 
Grant,  passing  through  the  enemy's  country,  escaping  capture,  de- 
livered his  messages,  and  returned  to  Washington  with  replies 
thereto." 

On  April  27,  1899,  Private  Edward  White,  Twentieth  Kansas  In- 
fantry, during  a  fight  with  insurgents  in  the  Philippine  Islands, 
"■  swam  the  Rio  Grande  de  Pamjjanga  in  face  of  the  enemy's  fire  and 
fastened  a  rope  to  the  unoccupied  trenches,  thereby  enabling  the 
crossing  of  the  river  and  the  driving  of  the  enemy  from  his  fortified 
position." 

On  May  6,  1900,  Private  William  P.  Maclay,  Forty-third  United 
States  Volunteer  Infantry,  "  charged  an  occupied  bastion,  saving 
the  life  of  an  officer  in  a  hand-to-hand  combat  and  destroying  the 
enemy." 

In  all  these  cases  medals  of  honor  were  granted.  The  incidents, 
however,  are  typical  of  the  Army.  Thousands  of  similar  stories 
might  be  told.  They  represent  the  spirit  that  will  inspire  the  Na- 
tional Army  when  the  time  comes  to  show  the  stuff  of  which  it  is 
made. 

Tales  of  heroic  courage  can  be  found  in  the  annals  of  all  armies 
and  of  all  nations.     But  the  American  Army  has  its  own  special 


tradition,  which  these  incidents  illustrate.  It  is  the  tradition  of  in- 
Uilli^once,  self-reliance,  and  individual'daring  on  the  part  of  men 
sei'N  ing  in  the  ranks. 

THE   INDIVIDUAL  SOLDIER   COUNTS. 

Other  things  being  equal,  an  army  made  up  of  self-reliant,  think- 
ing men  has  a  great  advantage  over  a  merely  machine-like  army,  and 
this  is  especially  true  in  present-day  warfare.  Maj.  Gen.  Hugh  L. 
Scott,  Chief  of  Staff,  U.  S..  A.,  remarks  on  this  point : 

"The  conditions  under  which  modern  wars  are  fought  are  ever 
making  increasing  demands  on  the  individual  soldier.  *  *  *  Xhe 
individual  soldier  nnist  know  how  to  interpret  accurately  orders  and 
signals,  for  the  enemy's  fire  may  often  so  isolate  him  from  his  leader 
and  comrades,  perhaps  only  a  step  away,  that  he  may  be  thrown  on 
his  own  initiative  in  making  his  actions  conform  to  tliose  of  the 
Avhole  line;  he  may  have  to  use  his  own  judgment  in  opening  tire,  in 
advancing,  in  intrenching." 

FAIR   PLAY. 

A  second  tradition  of  the  American  Army,  which  need  only  be 
mentioned,  is  that  of  fighting  fairly  and  treating  even  the  enemy 
with  as  much  humanity  as  his  own  conduct  Avill  permit.  As  for 
slaughtering  or  enslaving  the  civilian  population  of  captured  terri- 
tory, attacking  prisoners,  or  assaulting  women  American  soldiers 
would  as  little  conunit  such  crimes  in  time  of  war  as  in  time  of  peace. 
In  this  respect  most  of  the  civilized  nations  of  the  world  think  alike. 

FIGHTING   FOR    RIGHTS   AND    PRINCIPLES. 

There  is  a  third  splendid  tradition  of  the  American  Army  which 
you  will  help  to  carry  forward.  It  has  fought  always  and  every- 
where in  defense  of  principles  and  rights — never  merely  for  terri- 
tory and  for  power.  Even  the  Civil  War  resulted  from  the  clash  of 
opposing  principles — the  principle  of  an  indivisible  Union  upheld 
by  the  North,  and  that  of  freedom  to  withdraw  from  the  Union 
upheld  by  the  South. 

To  protect  the  rights  of  citizens  the  American  people  have  several 
times  opposed  tyrannical  gover-nments — the  English  Government  in 
1776  and  1812,  the  French  Govermnent  for  a  short  period  in  1798, 
the  Mexican  GoAernment  in  1848,  the  Spanish  Government  in  1898. 
The  final  effect  in  each  case  has  been  to  advance  the  cause  of  liberty 
and  democracy  throughout  the  world,  even  in  the  countries  against 
which  we  fought.  Our  weapons  have  not  willingly  been  turned 
against  any  peoples,  but  only  against  the  rulers  who  misgoverned 
and  misled  them.  In  fighting  for  our  own  rights  the  American  Army 
has  fought  also,  in  President  Wilson's  phrase,  for  the  "  rights  of 
mankind." 

For  a  like  high  purpose,  the  American  people  have  entered  into  the 
present  war  against  the  German  Government — a  government  which 
in  our  belief  misrepresents  and  misleads  the  German  people.  Only 
by  so  doing  can  we  make  America  and  the  Avorld  "  safe  for  democ- 
racy."    But  one  ending  can  be  thought  of — an  ending  that  will 


6 

guarantee  the  continuance  of  all  those  principles  and  rights  which  the 
American  Army  has  in  the  past  so  nobly  fought  to  establish. 

Never  lose  sight,  even  for  an  instant,  of  the  fact  that  all  your 
training,  your  efforts,  and  your  sacrifices  have  this  one  great  object 
in  view,  the  attainment  of  which  is  worth  anything  it  may  cost. 


LESSON  NO.  2. 

MAKING  GOOD  AS  A  SOLDIER. 

The  National  Army,  in  which  you  are  to  take  your  place,  truly 
expresses  the  American  character  and  ideals.  It  is  a  great  democratic 
army.  It  includes  men  of  all  degrees  of  wealth  and  education,  chosen 
through  fair  and  open  selection  by  lot.  All  are  brought  together  on 
terms  of  equality.  There  has  been  and  there  will  be  in  this  great 
National  Army  no  favoritism  and  no  "  pull."  The  poor  man  will 
drill  side  by  side  wdth  the  man  who  has  been  raised  in  luxury.  Each 
will  learn  from  the  other.  The  place  each  man  makes  for  himself 
will  be  determined  by  his  own  work  and  ability. 

DEVELOPING  SOLDIERLY  QUALITIES. 

The  question  as  to  Avhether  it  is  better  to  join  the  colors  now  or 
with  a  later  contingent  is  not  worth  arguing,  since  the  decision  has 
been  made  for  each  man  by  lot.  An  ambitious  man,  however,  will 
be  glad  to  join  now.  It  gives  him  a  better  chance  for  promotion. 
The  commissioned  officers  of  the  first  contingent  are  picked  men 
who  have  voluntarily  gone  through  the  hardest  kind  of  training. 
The  officers  of  later  contingents  will  be  drawn  largely  from  the  men 
enlisted  in  the  first  contingents.  There  is  plenty  of  opportunity  here 
for  every  man  to  use  his  brains  and  his  energ}^  and  to  earn  promo- 
tion according  to  his  worth.  This  does  not  mean  easy  or  quick  ad- 
vancement. It  means  only  that  you  will  have  jour  fair  chance — and 
you  would  ask  for  nothing  more — to  develop  yourself  and  to  climb 
upward  step  by  step. 

In  order  to  make  good  in  the  National  Army  you  must,  first  of  all, 
fit  yourself  to  carry  with  credit  the  simple  title  of  "  American  Citizen- 
Soldier"' — one  of  the  proudest  titles  in  the  Avorld.  This  means  that 
you  must  develop  in  yourself  the  qualities  of  a  soldier.  The  more 
quickly  and  thoroughly  you  cultivate  them  the  greater  will  be  your 
satisfaction  and  success. 

There  is  very  little  real  difference  of  opinion  as  to  soldierly  quali- 
ties. They  have  been  determined  by  ages  of  experience.  Weapons 
change,  but  the  soldiers  who  handle  the  weapons  remain  much  the 
same. 

THREE   BASIC  QUALITIES. 

There  are  three  basic  qualities,  without  which  no  man  can  be  a  real 
soldier  even  though  he  may  temporarily  wear  a  uniform.    They  arc: 

Loyalty. 
Obedience. 
Physical  Fitness. 

A  man  without  these  qualities  is  in  the  way  and  is  a  source  of  weak- 
ness to  an  army,  both  in  the  camp  and  on  the  field  of  battle. 


The  Articles  of  War  of  the  United  States  set  forth  tlie  military 
crimes  which  arc  punishable  by  heavy  penalties.  Among  these  crimes 
are  desertion,  cowardice,  insubordination,  drunkenness  Avhile  on  duty, 
sleeping  while  on  duty  as  a  sentinel,  disclosing  the  watchword,  and 
giving  aid  or  comfort  to  the  enemy.  Run  over  this  list  and  you  will 
see  that  every  one  of  these  military  crimes  can  result  only  from  the 
absence  of  one  or  more  of  the  three  basic  qualities  of  a  soldier. 

LOYALTY. 

A  soldier's  loyalty  governs,  first  of  all,  his  feelings  and  actions 
toward  his  country,  his  Government  and  his  flag.  There  can  be  no 
such  thing  as  half-way  loyalty.  The  slightest  compromise  opens 
the  door  to  treason. 

But  a  soldier's  loyalty  does  not  stop  here.  It  governs  also  his  feel- 
ings and  actions  toward  the  army  and  toward  all  the  officers  under 
whom  he  serves.  It  absolutely  forbids  disobedience  among  both  offi- 
cers and  enlisted  men,  oi'  disrespect  toward  those  in  authority. 

Going  a  step  farther,  loyalty  governs  also  the  soldier's  feelings  and 
actions  toward  his  own  regiment,  his  own  company,  and  his  own 
squad.  Without  this  form  of  loyalty  there  can  be  no  real  comrade- 
ship ;  without  it  you  will  never  feel  that  personal  pride  and  satisfac- 
tion in  the  service  which  should  mean  so  much  in  your  army  life. 

OBEDIENCE. 

The  second  of  the  soldier's  basic  qualities  is  obedience,  based  on 
discipline.  Without  obedience  and  discipline  an  army  can  not  long 
continue  to  exist ;  it  will  quickly  degenerate  into  an  armed  mob.  As 
the  Infantry  Drill  Regulations  put  it,  discipline  is  "  the  distinguish- 
ing mark  of  trained  troops." 

Frequently  the  recruit,  with  his  inborn  dislike  of  being  bossed, 
makes  the  mistake  during  his  first  few  wrecks  in  the  army  of  resenting 
the  fact  that  immediate  and  unquestioning  obedience  is  required  of 
him.  He  quickly  learns,  however,  that  obedience  enforced  through- 
out the  army  is  in  all  situations  the  chief  safeguard  of  the  rights,  the 
comfort,  and  the  safety  of  every  man,  from  the  raw  recruit  to  the 
commanding  general.  It  is  a  guarantee  that  the  small  number  of 
unruly  or  cowardly  men  to  be  found  in  every  group  shall  be  kept  in 
check  and  forced  to  comply  v\' ith  rules  made  for  the  benefit  of  all. 

Military  discipline  is  always  impersonal.  Obedience  is  required 
not  merely  of  you,  but  of  every  man  in  the  army.  It  is  required  of 
officers  by  their  superiors  with  fully  as  much  strictness  as  it  is  re- 
(]uired  of  you.  It  will  become  your  duty,  Avhenever  you  are  given 
authority  over  other  men,  to  demand  from  them  the  same  full  measure 
of  obedience  that  others  will  require  of  you. 

Disci])line  is  not  only  essential  in  developing  the  army,  but  also 
in  developing  your  own  character  as  a  soldier.  "  The  soldier  who  is 
by  nature  brave,  will  by  discipline  become  braver." 

PHYSICAL  FITNESS. 

The  third  basic  quality,  physical  fitness,  is  so  essential  that  a  large 
part  of  the  time  devoted  to  your  training  will  be  spent  in  building 
it  up.     Physical  fitness  includes  not  only  muscular  development  but 


8 

good  health  and  endurance  as  well.  It  is  a  quality  which  every  man 
who  passes  the  physical  examinations  can  develop  in  himself  by 
reasonable  care  and  by  obedience  to  instructions.  This  is  a  subject 
more  fully  discussed  in  a  later  les&x)n. 


LESSON  NO.  3. 

NINE   SOLDIERLY   QUALITIES. 

The  three  basic  qualities — loyalty,  obedience,  and  phj'sical  fitness — 
were  treated  in  the  preceding  lesson.  There  is  another  group  of  three 
soldierly  qualities  that  are  especially  needed  during  the  periods  of 
training,  marching,  and  waiting  between  combats.    They  are : 

Intelligence. 

Cleanliness. 

Cheerfulness. 
Although  these  qualities  are  associated  chiefly  with  camp  life,  they 
are,  of  course,  scarcely  less  helpful  in  all  other  phases  of  military 
service. 

INTELLIGENCE. 

Intelligence  does  not  necessarily  mean  education,  but  rather  quick 
observation  and  willingness  to  learn."  There  is  plenty  of  need  for 
intelligence  in  modern  Avarfare.  The  National  Army  will  be  forced 
to  absorb  within  a  few  months  a  training  which  woidd  ordinarily 
extend  over  a  period  of  two  or  three  years.  Those  who  intend  to  fit 
themselves  for  promotion  should  study  thoroughly  the  manuals  and 
the  drill  regulations  which  affect  their  duties.  In  time  they  should 
learn  something  about  map  making  and  map  reading,  the  construc- 
tion of  field  entrenchments,  training  and  care  of  horses,  signaling, 
the  handling  of  complex  pieces  of  machinery,  and  many  other 
subjects. 

Any  practical  knowledge  that  you  may  now  possess  will  surely  be 
useful  and  helpful  to  you  in  the  Army.  Capt.  Ijm  Hay  Beith.  of 
the  English  Army,  points  out  that  in  the  first  British  forces  of  the 
present  war  the  previous  trade  or  training  of  every  soldier  was  sooner 
or  later  utilized. 

CLEANLINESS. 

Cleanliness  is  important  everywhere,  but  most  of  all  in  the  Army, 
where  large  bodies  of  men  are  brought  together.  In  its  true  sense  it 
includes  not  only  keeping  your  body  clean,  but  also  your  mind  and 
your  actions.  Fortunately  it  is  a  virtue  in  which  Americans  generally 
rank  higli.  There  should  be  little  difficulty  in  setting  a  satisfactory 
standard  in  the  new  Army.  This  is  a  subject  more  fully  treated  later 
in  this  course. 

CHEERFULNESS. 

Cheerfulness  is  always  a  prominent  trait  of  good  soldiers.  Here 
again  Americans  may  be  counted  upon  to  malce  a  splendid  showing, 
even  in  the  face  of  any  unexpected  hardships  or  difficulties  that  may 


be  ahead  of  us.  There  are  numerous  episodes  in  American  military 
histor»y  to  justify  this  confidence. 

In  January,  18(>3,  the  Union  Army  lay  in  camp  at  Falmouth,  Vn. 
About  a  month  before  had  occurred  the  disastrous  and  bloody  defe;it 
of  Fredericksburg.  In  the  North  it  was  the  darkest  hour  of  the 
war.  Everywliere  outside  the  Army  there  was  depression  and  fear. 
On  January  i^l,  the  connnanding  general  ordered  the  troops  to  brcnk 
camp  and  move  forward.  At  the  same  time  "  a  cold  drizzling  rain 
set  in;  the  ground  speedily  became  like  a  sea  of  glue;  everything 
upon  wheels  sunk  into  the  bottomless  mud ;  it  took  twenty  horses  to 
start  a  single  caisson;  hundreds  of  them  died  in  harness;  but  still 
the  general  persisted.  But  the  rain  persisted  also,  and  it  soon  became 
a  simple  impossibility  to  go  forward."  After  two  days  of  eifort 
it  was  necessary  to  have  the  men  struggle  and  flounder  "  through  the 
wilderness  of  mud  back  to  their  camp." 

Picture  the  situation:  Recent  defeat  with  hea^y  losses;  retreat;  a 
cheerless  midwinter  camp ;  rain ;  cold ;  mud ;  discouragement  at  home ; 
a  long  march  under  the  most  trying  conditions  ending  in  a  return  to 
the  same  camping  ground  from  which  the  troops  had  started.  A 
little  grumbling  might  reasonably  have  been  expected.  But  the 
men  of  1863  were  too  good  soldiers  to  draw  long  faces.  The  his- 
torian goes  on:  "The  march  was  made  in  high  good  humor,  the 
soldiers  laughing  and  joking  at  their  ill  luck  with  that  comic  bright- 
ness characteristic  of  Americans  in  difficult  circumstances." 

THREE  QUALITIES  OF  BATTLE. 

Finally,  there  are  the  three  battle  qualities  of  the  good  soldier: 

Spirit, 

Tenacity, 

Self-reliance. 

Unless  a  man  has  these  three  qualities — even  though  he  possesses 
all  the  other  six  in  good  measure — he  is  after  all  only  a  camp-fire 
soldier. 

SPIRIT. 

Spirit — fighting  spirit — is  far  from  being  mere  hatred  of  the 
enemy  or  blind  fury,  on  the  one  hand;  nor  is  it  mere  passive  obedi- 
dicnce  to  orders,  on  the  other.  It  means  cool,  self-controlled  cour- 
age— the  kind  of  courage  which  enables  a  man  to  shoot  as  straight  on 
the  battlefield  as  he  does  in  target  practice.  However,  it  even  goes  a 
step  beyond  that  point.  Decisive  victories  can  not  be  won  by  merely 
repulsing  the  enemy.  "  Only  the  offensive  wins."  (Infantry  Drill 
Regidations,  paragraph  511.) 

Like  all  the  other  qualities  of  a  soldier,  spirit  can  be  cultivated. 
An  untrained  army  seldom  possesses  it.  But  it  can  be  developed. 
You  can  and  will  develop  it  until  it  becomes  as  much  a  part  of  your- 
self as  any  of  your  easy-going  civilian  habits  are  now. 

TENACITY. 

Spirit  carries  a  body  of  soldiers  forward.  Tenacity  is  the  quality 
that  makes  them  "stick."  The  thorough  soldier  is  never  ready  to 
stop  fighting  until  his  part  of  the  battle  is  won.     Tenacity  was  never 


10 

better  expressed  than  in  the  words  of  John  Paul  Jones.  Standing 
among  his  dead  and  wounded  on  his  sinking  ship  which  was  "  leak- 
ing like  a  basket,"  he  replied  to  his  adversary's  invitation  to  sur- 
render: "Sir,  I  have  not  yet  begun  to  fight."  Two  hours  later  the 
battle  came  to  a  sudden  end  when  the  colors  of  the  enemy's  vessel 
were  hauled  down. 

SELF-RELIANCE. 

Self-reliance  is  characteristic  of  the  American,  whether  he  is  serv- 
ing as  a  soldier  or  in  some  civil  occupation.  Much  the  same  quality 
is  sometimes  referred  to  as  "  initiative."  It  is  a  quality  needed  more 
than  ever  before  in  present-day  warfare.  Maj.  Gen.  Leonard  Wood, 
in  his  introduction  to  the  Field  Service  Regulations  of  the  United 
States  Army,  says: 

Officers  and  men  of  all  ranks  and  grades  are  given  a  certain  independence  in 
the  execution  of  tlie  tasks  to  whicli  tliey  ai-e  assigned  and  are  expected  to  sliow 
initiative  in  meeting  tlie  different  situations  as  tliey  arrive.  Every  individual, 
from  tlie  higliest  commander  to  tlie  lowest  private,  must  always  remember  tliac 
inaction  and  neglect  of  opportunities  will  warrant  more  severe  censure  than  an 
error  in  the  choice  of  the  means. 

MAKING  YOURSELF  STRONGER. 

The  nine  qualities  which  have  just  been  reviewed  are  those  which 
everyone  of  us  would  like  to  have  for  himself.  They  are  the  essen- 
tials of  virile  and  successful  manhood,  whether  in  the  Army  or 
out  of  it.  Even  the  moral  weakling  and  the  slacker  in  their  hearts 
admire  these  qualities. 

Doubtless  you  have  developed  some  of  them  already — perhaps  all 
of  them  to  a  greater  or  less  extent.  Many  a  man  has  discovered, 
when  put  to  the  test,  that  he  possessed  these  qualities  without  having 
himself  realized  it.  But  under  civilian  conditions  it  is  not  easy 
to  cultivate  all  of  them. 

In  the  Army  you  will  have  your  opportunity  in  a  few  months  of 
training  to  strengthen  these  qualities  in  yourself.  In  so  doing  you 
will  learn  to  control  yourself,  to  take  care  of  yourself  under  all  con- 
ditions, to  meet  hardship  and  danger  unflinchingly,  to  be  fearless 
and  self-reliant.  At  the  end  of  these  few  months  of  training  you 
will  ha^'e  gained  immensely  in  vigor  and  in  strength. 


LESSON  NO.  4. 
GETTING  READY   FOR  CAMP. 

Your  real  training  for  your  duties  as  a  soldier  will  begin  after 
you  and  your  comrades  are  assembled  at  the  training  camjjs.  How- 
ever, there  are  a  few  simple  things  you  can  do  during  the  next  few 
weeks  which  will  be  of  decided  valiie  in  getting  you  started  along 
the  light  lines. 

The  simplest  thing,  and  perhaps  the  most  useful  of  all,  is  to  begin 
at  once  to  practice  correct  habits  of  standing  and  walking.  Even  in 
civilian  life  a  man's  reputation  in  his  community — yes,  and  for  that 


11 

matter  his  own  self-respect — is  determined  to  a  surprising  extent  by 
his  bearing.  The  man  who  shniches  feels  like  a  slouch.  The  man 
who  holds  his  head  up  faces  the  world  with  confidence  and  courage. 

If  this  is  true  in  civilian  life,  it  is  ten  times  more  true  in  military 
life.  For  a  soldier  must  always  be  strongly  marked  by  his  snap,  his 
precision,  and  his  vigor.  He  can  not  have  these  traits  unless  he 
carries  himself  like  a  soldier. 

THE  BEARING  OF   A   SOLDIER. 

Few  people  without  military  training  have  a  correct  idea  of  what 
is  meant  by  the  i)osition  and  the  bearing  of  a  soldiei'.  They  are  apt 
to  imagine  that  it  means  a  strut  or  an  extremely  strained  attitude. 
Or,  more  frequently,  they  think  that  the  term  can  properly  be  ap- 
plied to  any  erect  position.  The  truth  of  the  case,  however,  is  that 
there  is  a  definite  procedure  to  follow  in  order  to  place  yourself  in 
what  is  known  in  the  Army  as  "  the  position  of  a  soldier."  It  is  the 
position  which  the  dismounted  soldier  always  assumes  at  the  com- 
mand "Attention,"  except  as  it  may  be  slightly  modified  to  enable 
him  to  carry  properly  any  arms  he  may  have  in  his  hands. 

It  will  be  well  for  you  to  memorize  paragraph  51  of  the  Infantry 
Drill  Regulations,  which  gives  the  complete  and  accurate  description 
of  the  position  of  the  soldier.  This  paragraph  is  slightly  para- 
phrased and  simplified  in  the  description  following:  Keep  in  mind 
that  there  are  10  elements  which  must  be  properly  adjusted  to  each 
othe)-.  and  check  yourself  up  to  see  that  each  one  of  them  is  properly 
placed. 

1.  Heels — on  the  same  line  and  as  near  each  other  as  possible;  most 
men  should  be  able  to  stand  with  heels  touching  each  other. 

2.  Feet — turned  out  equally  and  forming  an  angle  of  about  45 
degrees. 

3.  Knees — straight  without  stiffness. 

4.  Tlijys — level  and  drawn  back  slightly;  body  erect  and  resting 
equally  on  hips. 

5.  Chest — lifted  and  arched. 

6.  Shoulders — square  and  falling  equally. 
Y.  Arms — hanging  naturally. 

8.  Hands — hanging  naturally,  thumb  along  the  seam  of  the 
trousers. 

9.  Head — erect  and  squarely  to  the  front;  chin  drawn  in  so  that 
axis  of  head  and  neck  is  vertical  (means  that  a  straight  line  drawji 
through  the  center  of  head  and  neck  should  be  vertical)  ;  eyes  straight 
to  the  front. 

10.  Entire  hody — weight  of  body  resting  equally  upon  the  heels 
and  balls  of  the  feet. 

Note  especially  that  you  are  not  required  to  stand  in  a  strained 
attitude.    You  are  to  be  alert  but  not  tense. 

One  of  the  A-ery  best  things  you  can  do  to-day  is  to  spend  15  min- 
utes practicing  this  position,  getting  it  right.  Keep  this  up  every 
day  until  you  report  at  camp.  In  the  Army,  as  in  every  day  life, 
first  impressions  are  important.  The  first  impression  j^ou  make  on 
your  officers  and  fellows  will  de])end,  more  than  you  probably  realize, 
on  the  manner  in  which  you  stand  and  walk. 


12 

MAKING  YOURSELF  "FIT." 

If  you  caai  devote  part  of  your  time  between  now  and  the  opening 
of  camp  to  phj^sical  exercise  you  are  fortunate  and  should  by  all 
means  take  advantage  of  every  opportunity.  Climbing,  jumping, 
gymnastic  exercises,  all  kinds  of  competitive  games,  swimming,  row^- 
ing,  boxing,  wrestling,  and  running  are  all  recommended  as  excellent 
methods  of  developing  the  skill,  strength,  endurance,  grace,  courage, 
and  self-reliance  that  every  solclier  needs. 

There  are  some  simple  rules  of  eating  and  living  which  all  of  us 
should  follow  regularly.  They  will  be  especially  helpful  to  you  if 
you  put  them  into  practice  in  preparing  for  camp  life. 

Perhaps  the  most  important  of  these  rules  is  to  use  no  alcohol  of 
any  kind. 

'  if  you  have  been  in  the  habit  of  smoking  immoderately,  cut  down ; 
get  your  wnnd,  your  nerves,  and  your  digestion  into  the  best  possible 
condition. 

Eat  and  drink  moderately.  Chew  your  food  well.  It  is  advisable, 
however,  to  drink  a  great  deal  of  cool  (not  cold)  water  between 
meals.    Don't  eat  between  meals. 

Keep  away  from  soda  fountains  and  soft-drink  stands.  Learn  to 
enjoy  simple,  nourishing  food. 

Accustom  yourself  to  regular  hours  for  sleeping,  eating,  and  the 
morning  functions. 

Don't  "take  a  last  fling."  It  may  land  you  in  the  hospital.  At 
the  best,  it  wall  probably  bring  you  into  camp  in  an  unfit  condition 
to  take  up  your  new  duties  with  profit  and  enjoyment.  There  are 
strenuous  days  ahead  of  you  and  it  w^ill  be  good  sense  on  your  part 
to  make  reasonable  preparation  for  them. 

LOOK    FORWARD    WITH    CONFIDENCE. 

You  will  find  nothing  required  of  you  in  the  Army  that  is  beyond 
the  powers  of  the  every-day  American.  You  will  see  clearly  ahead 
of  you,  after  you  have  read  this  course,  the  path  which  you  are  to 
follow.'  Look  forward  with  confidence.  Enter  the  service  with  the 
firm  determination  of  doing  your  best  at  all  times,  of  playing  square 
with  your  superiors,  3'our  associates,  and  yourself,  and  of  taking 
care  always  of  your  assigned  duties  whatever  may  happen. 

You  will  find  that  everyone  else  will  treat  you  with  courtesy  and 
fairness — for  that  is  the  inflexible  rule  of  the  Army.  Out  of  that 
rule  grows  the  comradeship  and  the  attractiveness,  even  in  the  face 
of  all  dangers  and  hardships,  that  are  characteristic  of  American 
Army  life. 

LESSON  NO.  5. 
FIRST  DAYS  IN  CAMP. 

There  will  be  nearly  40,000  men  in  each  cantonment.  The  task 
of  preparing  for  your  arrival  is  enormous.  Each  cantonment  will 
require  25,000,000 "feet  of  lumber,  7,500  doors,  37.000  window  sashes, 
4,()C5  casks  of  Portland  cement,  and  5,000  yards  of  broken  stone. 
The  water  supply  of  a  cantonment  will  be  2,500,000  gallons  a  day. 


13 

It  will  have  its  own  sewerage  system,  fire  department,  bakeries,  ice 
plants,  and  hospitals.  It  will  even  lequire  a  gigantic  steam-heating 
plant.  Sixteen  cities,  each  with  a  population  of  40,000,  well  cared 
for — that  is  the  task. 

In  spite  of  the  best  efforts,  it  is  possible  that  some  of  the  details 
may  remain  imlinished  at  the  beginning  of  your  camp  life.  There 
will  be  a  certain  amount  of  bustle  and  appaient  confusion  on  the 
surface.  Bear  in  mind  that  underneath  it  all  lies  a  weJl-thought-out 
plan.  In  woi-king  out  this  plan  everything  possible  has  been  done 
for  the  comfort  and  convenience  of  individual  soldiers.  Don't  grum- 
ble if  you  run  into  some  temporary  delays  or  inconveniences  at  the 
beginning.  One  of  the  tests  of  a  good  soldier  is  his  cheerful  willing- 
ness to  take  things  as  they  are  and  make  the  best  of  them. 

You  are  naturally  interested  in  forming  some  idea  of  the  camp 
life  of  a  soldier.  The  description  which  follows  will  help  you  in 
forming  this  idea.  However,  there  will  be  many  changes  as  you  go 
along  in  your  training. 

As  the  men  in  the  National  Army  must  get  ready  in  record-break- 
ing time,  their  training  Avill  be  more  strenuous  than  that  of  soldiers 
in  peace.  You  will  find  there  is  plenty  of  hard  work  ahead  of  you. 
The  average  energetic  young  American  will  be  glad  of  it. 

The  soldier  arises  for  the  day  usually  at  about  6  o'clock,  a  little 
earlier  in  the  summer  and  a  little  later  in  the  winter.  The  buglers 
sound  the  call  known  as  reveille.    The  men  dress  and  fall  in. 

Your  first  experience  of  military  drill  will  probably  consist  of 
"  setting-up  exercises,''  which  ordinarily  occupy  the  first  few  minutes 
of  the  day.  They  consist  of  certain  movements  of  the  head,  arms, 
trunk,  and  legs,  which  are  carefully  designed  not  merely  to  develop 
your  nniscles  but  also  to  increase  your  skill,  grace,  self-control,  and 
self-reliance.  At  the  same  time  they  will  also  put  you  into  the  right 
frame  of  mind  for  a  vigorous  day's  work. 

In  the  mornings  when  the  bugle  rings  out  the  reveille,  and  you 
crawl  out  of  .your  bunk  reluctantly,  possibly  tired  and  sore  from  the 
previous  day's  work,  you  will  find  yourself  wonderfully  freshened 
and  cheered  up  by  a  feM^  minutes'  vigorous  setting-up  exercises. 
Watch  their  effect  on  yourself,  and  you  will  see  why  they  are  so 
highly  regarded  by  the  most  experienced  soldiers  of  the  Army.  It 
will  be  only  a  short  time  until  you  look  upon  the  early  morning  set- 
ting-up drill  as  one  of  the  pleasantest  features  of  your  day. 

Then  comes  "  washing  up  "  and  breakfast.  Usually  breakfast  is 
followed  by  a  half-hour  for  cleaning  the  barracks  and  bunks  and 
putting  clothing  and  bedding  in  order.  Frequently  the  company 
commander  will  inspect  the  barracks  immediately  afterwards  to  make 
sure  that  every  man  has  attended  to  his  part  of  the  work.  There  is 
then  often  some  time  which  the  trained  soldier  uses  for  attending  to 
his  personal  needs,  tidying  up  his  clothing,  and  the  like. 

The  remaining  two  or  three  hours  of  the  morning  are  likely  to  be 
spent  in  drill,  at  first  in  ''  close  order  "  and  later  in  ''  extended  order  " 
also.  These  terms  will  be  explained  in  another  part  of  this  course. 
As  you  advance,  the  drills  will  become  more  and  more  interesting. 
During  the  drill  there  are  numerous  short  periods  of  rest. 

In  most  camps  guard  mounting  comes  about  noon.  This  consists 
of  relieving  the  men  who  have  been  guarding  the  camp  and  turning 
over  this  duty  to  new  men.     Each  soldier  mounts  guard  not  oftener 


14 

than  once  a  week.  After  guard  mounting  the  men  go  to  dinner, 
which  comes  at  12  o'clock.  At  least  one  hour  is  always  allowed  for 
dinner  and  rest. 

During  the  afternoons  the  work  is  likely  to  be  varied  and  to  include 
additional  setting-up  exercises  and  other  drills,  target  practice,  bayo- 
net exercises,  and  later  more  advanced  drilling.  About  5  o'clock 
comes  the  evening  parade  and  "  retreat,"  when  the  flag  is  lowered  or 
furled  for  the  night.  The  band  plays  "  The  Star  Spangled  Banner," 
while  all  officers  and  soldiers  stand  at  attention.  The  ceremony  is 
designed  to  deepen  each  man's  respect  and  love  for  the  flag  which  he 
serves;  it  is  always  impressive.  After  the  flag  is  lowered  it  is  care- 
fully folded  and  escorted  by  the  guard  to  headquarters,  where  it  is 
kept  until  the  next  morning,  when  it  is  again  raised. 

Supper  comes  between  5  and  6  o'clock  and  is  usually  followed  by  a 
period  of  rest.  In  the  training  camps  there  will  be  many  oppor- 
tunities for  a  variety  of  healthful  amusements — for  sports,  music, 
the  theater,  and  so  on,  as  later  described.  Taps  are  sounded  by  10 
o'clock.  This  is  the  signal  to  put  out  all  lights,  retire,  and  keep  quiet. 
"  It  closes  the  day  for  the  soldier  and  sends  him  to  his  blankets  a  tired 
and  sleepy  man." 

This  is  only  a  sample  of  a  day  in  camp.  On  some  days  your  com- 
pany will  go  off  on  "  hikes."  After  a  time  there  may  be  longer 
marches,  when  you  will  carry  your  shelter  tents  with  you  and  will 
make  your  own  camp  each  evening.  These  are  days  that  will  be  espe- 
cially interesting.  You  will  learn  the  soldier's  art  of  adapting  your- 
self to  new  situations  and  making  yourself  comfortable. 

Your  officers  will  ask  you  to  do  nothing  that  they  have  not  many 
times  done  themselves.  They  will  ask  nothing  of  you  which  any 
normal,  healthy  man  can  not  do.  After  a  month  or  two  of  this 
training  you  will  find  that  you  have  begun  to  take  on  some  of  the 
skill  and  the  self-reliance  of  a  real  soldier. 


LESSON  NO,  6. 

CLEANLINESS  IN  CAMP. 

When  large  numbers  of  men  are  assembled  in  camp  it  is  necessary 
for  the  good  of  all  that  strict  rules  of  personal  conduct  and  sanita- 
tion should  be  enforced.  These  rules  are  by  no  means  a  hardship. 
They  are  a  protection.  By  insisting  on  strict  obedience  to  these 
rules  the  diseases  which 'once  took  so  heavy  a  toll  in  nearly  all  mili- 
tary camps  have  been  brought  under  control ;  some  have  been  prac- 
tically eliminated. 

Suppose  you  were  asked  to  make  a  choice;  either  to  live  under 
conditions  in  which  smallpox,  tyj)hoid  fever,  diarrhea,  dysentery, 
and  cholera  flourish ;  or  to  live  under  strict  regidations,  which  make 
these  diseases  far  more  of  a  rarity  in  military  than  in  civil  life.  Your 
good  sense  would  lead  you  to  choose  the  latter.  Bear  this  in  mind. 
See  to  it  that  you  cooperate  with  enthusiasm  in  the  measures  that 
will  be  taken  to  keep  your  camps  clean,  comfortable,  and  healthful. 

One  of  tlie  pests  of  camp  life,  if  perfect  cleanliness  is  not  observed, 
is  the  presence  of  swarms  of  flies.     Flies  are  not  merely  annoying. 


15 

They  are  dangerous.  Somebody  has  said,  with  perhaps  a  slight  ex- 
aggeration, that  to  sokliers  they  are  more  dangerous  than  bullets. 
This  is  because  flies  carry  disease  germs.  They  feed  on  manure, 
garbage,  uncovered  food,  human  excreta,  and  the  like,  Thej'^  also 
lay  their  eggs  wherever  refuse  of  the  same  kind  is  found.  The  best 
way  to  keep  flies  away  from  camps  is  to  destroj^  the  places  where 
they  breed  and  feed;  in  other  words,  keep  the  camp  spotlessly  clean. 

For  this  reason  the  daily  "  policing"  (or  cleiining  up)  of  the  camp 
is  a  matter  of  first  importance.  You  will  be  required  to  keep  3'our 
company  street  free  from  even  small  objects,  bits  of  food,  and  the 
like,  which  might  attract  flies  or  other  insects.  At  least  once  a  day  a 
squad  will  be  detailed  to  inspect  and  clean  every  square  foot  of  space 
in  or  near  your  living  quarters.  This  is  a  duty  whch  an  experienced 
soldier  usually  performs  with  more  interest  and  thoroughness  than 
the  raw  recruit;  for  he  more  clearly  realizes  its  importance. 

The  best  safeguards  against  disease.,  either  in  the  army  or  out  of 
it,  are  soap  and  sunshine.  You  will  be  required  to  keep  ever3^thing 
in  the  camp  well  scrubbed  and  well  aired.  If  it  w^ere  not  required, 
you  would  doubtless  be  anxious  to  do  it  anywa}^ 

The  good  soldier  is  almost  "fussy"  in  the  care  of  his  person,  his 
clothing,  his  bedding,  and  his  other  belongings.  Personal  cleanli- 
ness includes  using  only  your  own  linen,  toilet  articles,  cup,  and  mess 
kit.  Many  annoying  skin  troubles  and  such  diseases  as  colds  and 
infectious  fevers  are  often  passed  from  one  person  to  others  by 
using  articles  in  common. 

In  the  training  camp  there  will  be  plenty  of  shower  baths,  and 
you  will,  of  course,  make  free  use  of  them.  If  in  temporary  camps 
or  at  any  other  time  you  can  not  obtain  a  bath,  give  yourself  a  good 
stiff  rub  with  a  dry  towel.  Twice  a  week,  or  oftener  if  necessary, 
your  shirts,  drawers,  and  socks  should  be  washed  and  fresh  under- 
clothes put  on.  In  case  it  is  necessary  to  sleep  in  your  underAvear, 
as  it  probably  will  be,  put  one  aside  to  wear  at  night,  so  that  you 
will  always  feel  fresh  and  clean  in  the  morning. 

The  scalp  should  be  thoroughly  cleaned  about  as  frequently  as  the 
rest  of  the  body.  This  will  be  made  easier  if  you  keep  your  hair 
cut  short. 

The  teeth  should  be  brushed  at  least  once  a  day:  twice  a  day  is 
better.  Neglecting  this  practice  will  cause  decay  of  the  teeth,  re- 
sulting in  failure  to  chew  food  thoroughly  and  probably  ending  in 
stomach  troubles. 

Cleanliness  includes  also  the  practice  of  emptying  your  bowels 
at  least  once  a  day.  Get  into  the  habit  of  doing  this  at  a  certain 
time  each  morning.  It  is  a  habit  that  can  bo  cultivated,  just  like  any 
other  habit.  Do  not  let  a  little  personal  inconvenience  or  laziness 
stand  in  the  way. 

The  Medical  Corps  of  the  Army  and  your  own  officers  will  use 
every  means  within  their  power  to  safeguard  and  improve  your 
general  health.  Within  recent  years  better  methods  of  medical  super- 
vision have-  greatly  reduced  the  losses  and  the  disabilities  due  to 
warfare. 

The  increased  power  of  weapons  has  been  more  than  met  by  in- 
creased efficiency  in  maintaining  the  health  of  troops  and  in  caring 
for  those  who  are  wounded. 


16 

But  the  responsibility  for  keeping  yourself  in  good  health  can  not 
rest  wholly  upon  your  officers.  Just  as  in  civil  life,  you  arc  expected 
to  use  a  reasonable  amount  of  good  sense  in  looking  after  yourself. 
You  will  do  this  partly  because  it  adds  to  your  own  comfort  and 
safety.  You  will  take  care  of  yourself,  also,  because  it  i&  a  duty 
that  every  soldier  owes  to  the  country. 

You  will  have  plenty  of  fresh  air,  exercise,  and  good  food,  which 
are,  after  all,  the  chief  essentials  of  good  health.  It  should  be  a 
comparatively  easy  thing  for  you  to  look  after  the  smaller  things. 


LESSON  NO.  7. 

YOUR  HEALTH. 

The  living  conditions  in  the  Army  are  just  what  most  vigorous  men 
need  for  their  physical'  well-being.  Every  day  brings  an  ample 
amount  of  exercise,  fresh  air,  and  good  food.  Yours  will  be  a  very 
unusual  case  if  you  do  not  find  yourself  after  a  few  months  stronger, 
healthier,  and  more  buoyant  than  you  have  ever  been  in  your  life. 

It  is  true,  on  the  other  hand,  that  extreme  exertion  in  marching  or 
fighting  may  in  time  be  called  for.  But  this  will  not  be  until  you 
are  thoroughly  trained  and  fit.  The  periods  of  strain  or  exposure 
will  probably  be  short  and  are  not  likely  in  themselves  to  do  you  any 
real  harm.  At  any  rate  you  owe  it  to  yourself — and,  what  is  more, 
you  owe  it  to  the  country — to  make  yourself  "fit"  at  the  earliest 
possible  moment.  Sick  men  can  not  do  much  toward  winning  this 
war.  In  the  Army  they  are  not  only  a  loss  but  during  their  sickness 
a  positive  handicap. 

There  are  a  few  simple,  common-sense  rules  to  follow,  which  are 
briefly  summed  up  in  this  lesson. 

Everything  you  eat  will  be  carefully  inspected  by  the  officers  in 
charge  of  that  duty.  You  will  have  plenty  of  fresh  meat,  bread, 
potatoes,  and  other  vegetables,  and  other  simple-  and  nourishing  food. 
As  a  general  rule,  you  should  eat  nothing  not  supplied  in  your  com- 
pany mess.  Especially  avoid  green  or  overripe  fruit  and  the  inferior 
"  soft  drinks  "  which  will  be  put  before  you  in  shops  and  by  peddler^ 
(;utside  the  camp  limits. 

Your  chief  care  in  connection  with  food  will  be  to  chew  it  thor- 
ffUghly  and  eat  it  slowly.  Don't  drink  excessive  quantities  of  water, 
tea,  or  coffee  with  your  meals ;  this  is  rather  a  common  fault  among 
soldiers. 

Avoid  needless  exposure.  You  may  be  often  called  upon  in  the 
line  of  duty  to  march  through  mud  and  rain.  So  long  as  you  are 
actively  on  the  move  it  will  probably  do  no  harm.  As  soon  as  you 
are  off  duty,  however,  take  proper  care  of  yourself.  Give  yourself  a 
rub  down  and  if  possible  bathe  you^-  feet  and  change  your  clothing. 
Use  a  little  extra  care  to  protect  your  belly  from  getting  chilled ;  it 
may  save  you  some  annoying  attacks  of  ci-amps  and  diarrhea. 

If  you  come  in  from  exercise  or  drill  sweating  freely,  try  to  cool 
off  gradually  instead  of  allowing  yourself  to  get  chilled.  Even  in 
hot  weather  throw  a  light  coat  or  wrap  over  yourself  for  a  few 
minutes. 


17 

One  of  the  most  important  rules  of  all  is  to  be  careful  about  drink- 
ing water  not  provided  in  the  camp  or  recommended  to  you  by 
medical  or  company  officers.  If  pure  water  is  not  at  hand,  it  is 
better  to  drink  boiled  water  or  weak  coffee  or  tea.  Boiling  kills  the 
disease  genus. 

If  you  are  in  the  habit  of  using  tobacco,  be  moderate,  especially 
while  you  are  on  the  march  or  just  before  taking  strenuous  exercise. 
Your  smoke  will  do  less  harm  and  at  the  same  time  will  be  much 
more  enjoyable  if  you  wait  till  you  can  sit  down  quietly  during  one 
of  the  periods  of  rest. 

Eight  hours  of  each  day  are  set  aside  for  sleep.  This  is  ample, 
but  not  too  much  for  most  men.  P^ven  if  you  can't  sleep  for  any 
reason,  lie  still  and  get  a  good  rest  during  those  hours. 

The  medical  officer  will  be  ready  to  do  everything  he  can  to  keep 
you  well.  Don't  hesitate  to  report  to  him  if  you  need  any  attention 
even  for  slight  ailments.  Every  day  at  "  sick  call "  any  soldier  who 
is  not  feeling  well  may  ask  for  medical  treatment. 

It  is  frequently  assumed  by  well-meaning  critics  that  illicit  sexual 
intercourse  and  venereal  diseases  are  more  common  in  the  Army  than 
in  civil  life.  This  is  probably  a  mistaken  impression,  due  largely  to 
the  fact  that  statistics  of  these  diseases  are  collected  in  the  Army, 
v/hereas  the  corresponding  figures  for  civilian  life  are  incomplete. 
In  the  new  Army  the  evils  of  sexual  immorality  will  be  reduced  to 
a  minimum.  The  men  will  find  their  time  and  energy  so  fully  occu- 
pied that  they  will  have  fewer  temptations  and  dangers  of  this  type 
than  in  everyday  civil  life. 

One  of  your  obligations  as  a  citizen-soldier  is  to  conduct  yourself 
in  such  a  way  as  to  create  and  spread  the  true  impression — namely, 
that  the  National  Army  is  made  up  of  men  too  much  in  earnest  in 
the  great  task  assigned  to  them  to  indulge  in  lewdness  and  vice. 

The  only  sure  safeguard  against  venereal  disease  is  to  avoid  illicit 
intercourse.  A  clean  life  is  the  best  guaranty  of  sound  health.  To 
maintain  a  clean  life,  keep  away  from  those  things  which  tend  to 
promote  sexual  excitement  and  desire,  particularly  obscene  conversa- 
tion, reading  matter,  and  pictures. 

The  moral  reasons  which  should  impel  every  self-respecting  man 
to  avoid  debasing  himself  by  sexual  vice  are  well  known  to  every 
man  who  joins  the  National  Army  and  need  not  be  recounted  here. 
In  addition  to  the  moral  reasons,  there  rests  upon  every  soldier  the 
especial  duty  of  avoiding  everything  that  may  unfit  him  for  active 
and  effective  service.  This  obligation  in  the  present  crisis  is  even 
greater  and  more  urgent  than  in  normal  times.  The  soldiers  of  the 
National  Army  will  be  expected  and  required  to  maintain  especially 
high  standards  of  conduct  and  to  honor  the  uniform  they  are  privi- 
leged to  wear. 


LESSON  NO.  8. 

MARCHING  AND  CARE  OF  FEET. 

The  new  soldier  seldom  understands  how  important  it  is  for  him 
to  learn  to  march  and  to  develop  his  muscles  so  that  he  can  easily 
carry  his  arms  and  equipment.     '"'  Marching  constitutes  the  prin- 

18199°— 17 2 


18 

cipal  occupation  of  troops  in  campaign."  (Infantry  Drill  Regula- 
tions, par.  623.)  Modern  trench  warfare  in  Europe  has  for  the  time 
being  reduced  the  amount  of  marching  required  in  campaign ;  yet  it 
remains  just  as  important  an  element  in  the  soldier's  training  as  it 
ever  was. 

In  order  to  march  for  long  distances  the  soldier's  feet  must  be  in 
good  condition.  As  has  been  aptly  remarked,  "the  infantryman's 
feet  are  his  means  of  transportation."  Special  attention  should  be 
paid  to  the  fitting  of  shoes  and  the  care  of  the  feet.  Marching  shoes 
should  be  quite  a  little  larger  than  shoes  for  ordinary  wear.  "  Sores 
and  blisters  on  the  feet  should  be  promptly  dressed  during  halts.  At 
the  end  of  the  march  feet  should  be  bathed  and  dressed;  the  socks, 
and  if  practicable  the  shoes,  should  be  changed."  (Infantry  Drill 
Regulations,  par.  627.) 

You  will  learn  in  time  the  practical  rules  for  taking  care  of  your 
feet  that  are  followed  by  experienced  soldiers.  You  will  avoid 
considerable  discomfort,  however,  if  you  learn  some  of  these  rules 
now  and  put  them  into  practice  from  the  very  beginning : 

1.  See  that  your  shoes  are  large  enough.  They  will  at  first  look 
and  feel  unnecessarily  loose.  This  is  needed  because  it  has  been 
found  that  feet  swell  and  lengthen  on  marches,  especially  when  car- 
rying packs.  But  shoes  fitted  this  way  will  give  you  no  corns, 
bunions,  blisters,  or  other  foot  ills.  In  fact,  they  will  cure  any  that 
you  may  already  have. 

2.  Take  pains  to  keep  your  shoes  in  good  condition.  It  is  a  good 
idea  to  apply  a  light  coat  of  neat's-foot  oil,  which  will  both  soften 
the  leather  and  tend  to  make  them  waterproof.  Don't  neglect  to 
smooth  out  wrinkles  in  the  lining  of  the  shoe.  "  Break  in "  new 
shoes  before  wearing  them  on  long  marches. 

3.  Wear  light  woolen  socks,  such  as  will  be  issued  to  you.  See 
that  you  have  no  holes  or  wrinkles  in  them.  If  a  hole  has  been  worn 
and  can  not  be  mended  at  once,  change  the  sock  from  one  foot  to  the 
other  so  that  your  foot  will  not  be  irritated  more  than  is  necessary. 

4.  Keep  your  feet,  socks,  and  shoes  clean.  '^'VTien  on  the  march 
try  to  wash  your  socks  at  night  and  put  on  a  clean  pair  every  morn- 
ing. Bathe  the  feet  every  evening,  or  at  least  wipe  them  off  with  a 
wet  towel. 

5.  Keep  j^our  feet  scrupulously  clean.  A  foot  bath  can  be  taken, 
when  other  facilities  are  not  at  hand,  by  scraping  a  small  depression 
in  the  ground,  throwing  a  poncho  over  it  and  pouring  water  into 
this  from  your  canteen.  Even  a  pint  of  water  will  do  for  a  foot 
bath.  You  can  bathe  all  over  by  making  or  finding  a  depression  of 
suitable  size  and  using  your  poncho  as  for  a  foot  bath. 

6.  Keep  your  toenails  trimmed  closely  and  cut  them  square  across 
the  ends. '  This  will  tend  to  prevent  ingrowing  nails.  By  all  means 
avoid  the  common  error  of  rounding  the  corners  of  the  nail  and 
cutting  it  to  a  point  in  the  center. 

7.  In  case  a  blister  is  formed  while,  on  the  march,  open  the  edge 
of  the  blister  with  the  point  of  a  knife  or  a  needle  that  has  been 
heated  in  a  match  flame.  Be  sure  to  squeeze  all  the  fluid  out  of  the 
blister.  To  leave  any  in  it  may  make  it  worse.  Do  not  pull  off  the 
loose  skin  but  press  it  back.  Then  put  on  an  adhesive  plaster,  cover- 
ing the  skin  well  beyond  the  edges  of  the  blister,  putting  it  on  as 


19 

tightly  as  possible  without  wrinkles.  In  the  same  way  put  an  ad- 
hesive plaster  over  any  red  or  tender  spots. 

8.  In  case  any  tendons  become  inflamed  or  swollen  (usually  due 
to  lacing  the  legging  or  shoe  too  tightly  or  to  some  other  unnecessary 
pressure),  soak  the  foot  in  cold  water,  massage  the  tendon,  and  pro- 
tect it  as  much  as  possible  by  strips  of  adhesive  plaster.  You  should 
report  to  a  medical  officer  at  your  first  opportunity  to  make  sure 
that  the  trouble  does  not  grow  worse. 

One  sign  of  a  green  soldier  is  his  tendency  to  drink  too  much 
water  while  on  a  long  march.  The  experienced  man  gargles  his 
mouth  and  throat  once  in  a  while,  but  drinks  only  in  sips  and  does 
not  overload  his  stomach  with  either  water  or  food. 

After  you  have  arrived  in  camp  and  have  cooled  off  you  can  drink 
slowly  as  much  as  you  desire.  It  is,  of  course,  unwise  to  eat  fruits, 
candy,  soft  drinks,  ice  cream,  and  the  like  while  on  the  march. 

Another  sign  of  a  green  soldier  is  a  carelessly  adjusted  pack  or  any 
other  equipment  not  neatly  and  securely  fastened.  Your  comfort  on 
the  march  depends  very  largely  on  the  care  and  judgment  used  in 
getting  ready.  All  your  equipment  has  been  so  designed  that  it  need 
not  interfere  with  the  free  movement  of  your  arms  and  legs.  Your 
pack  should  be  strapped  to  your  back  in  such  a  way  that  you  can 
stand  erect  and  breathe  freely.  There  should  be  no  pressure  on  any 
of  the  soft  parts  of  the  body.  You  will  march  most  easily  if  you 
keep  your  body  erect  and  do  not  permit  yourself  to  slouch  or  sway 
from  side  to  side. 

When  the  command  is  given  to  halt  and  fall  out  for  a  few  minutes 
loosen  your  pack  and  rest  back  on  it  in  a  sitting  and  lying  position. 
If  jjossible,  lie  with  your  feet  higher  than  the  head,  so  as  to  let  the 
blood  flow  out  of  the  legs  into  the  body  and  rest  your  heart.  During 
the  first  few  halts  you  may  not  feed  tired,  but  rest  as  completely  as 
you  can  anyway.  Look  forward  to  the  end  of  the  march  and  tr}'^  to 
handle  yourself  so  that  you  will  be  strong  and  fresh  at  the  finish. 

At  the  first  halt  it  is  well  to  readjust  the  pack  or  any  part  of  the 
equipment  not  entirely  comfortable.  If  your  shoes  or  leggings  are 
laced  too  tightly,  this  is  the  time  to  loosen  them. 

A  cheerful  attitude  is  one  of  the  best  aids  to  a  soldier  on  a  trying 
march.  Singing  and  whistling  on  the  march  is  usually  not  only  al- 
lowed but  encouraged.  They  help  wonderfull}'-  to  make  the  long  road 
seem  shorter. 

These  are  all  very  simple  rules,  but  none  the  less  important.  Keep 
them  in  mind.  Some  men  never  learn  except  from  their  own  hard 
experience;  but  it  is  expected  of  the  men  in  the  National  Army  that 
they  will  have  tlie  good  sense  to  see  the  value  of  these  suggestions  and 
to  apply  them  from  the  very  beginning. 


LESSON  NO.  9. 

YOUR  EQUIPMENT  AND  ARMS. 

Each  soldier  in  a  modern  army  carrier  with  him  sufficient  food, 
clothing,  shelter,  fighting  arms,  and  ammunition  to  take  care  of 
himself  for  a  short  period  in  case  he  should  be  separated  from  his 


20 

company.  The  total  weight  of  his  load,  in  addition  to  the  clothes  he 
wears,  is  50  to  70  pounds.  The  number  of  articles  is  surprisingly 
large.  They  are  so  devised,  however,  that  by  ingenious  methods  of 
packing  and  adjusting  they  can  all  be  carried  with  the  least  possible 
effort. 

You  are  personally  responsible  for  all  the  arms,  clothing,  and  sup- 
plies issued  to  you.  The  trained  soldier  keeps  track  of  them.  He 
knows  immediately  at  any  time  where  every  one  of  his  belongings  is 
to  be  found.  You  are  required  to  keep  them  in  good  condition.  In 
case  you  need  other  articles,  they  may  be  issued  to  you,  but  their 
value  in  that  case  will  be  deducted  from  your  next  pay. 

You  will  receive  on  enlistment  an  ample  supply  of  clothing,  in- 
cluding not  only  your  uniform,  but  extra  shoes,  shirts,  underclothes, 
and  socks.  You  may  not  be  able  always  to  keep  your  clothing  spot- 
lessly clean.  But  when  it  becomes  dirty  or  spotted  take  the  first 
opportunity  to  clean  it  thoroughly. 

Your  shoes  must  be  cleaned  and  polished  frequently.  Wet  shoes 
should  be  carefully  dried.  Army  men  frequently  dry  their  shoes  dur- 
ing the  night  by  taking  a  few  handfuls  of  dry,  clean  pebbles,  heat- 
ing them  in  a  meat  can  or  kettle  until  they  are  very  hot,  and  then 
placing  them  in  the  shoes.  So  long  as  the  pebbles  are  hot  mo\'e  them 
about  once  in  a  while  by  shaking  the  shoes.  Take  care  not  to  heat  the 
pebbles  so  hot  that  the  shoes  will  be  scorched. 

In  general,  see  to  it  that  all  your  clothing  is  as  neat  and  clean  as 
possible  at  all  times.  Mend  rips  and  sew  on  buttons  without  delay. 
This  will  add  to  your  comfort  as  well  as  appearance. 

Wear  your  hat  straight.  Don't  affect  the  "  smart-aleck  "  style  of 
tilting  the  hat.  Keep  all  buttons  fastened.  Have  your  trousers  and 
leggings  properly  laced.  Keep  yourself  clean  shaved.  Carry  your- 
self like  a  soldier. 

Bear  in  mind  that  there  is  a  tendency  in  camp  life  for  men  to  be- 
come careless  and  untidy.  You  must  use  every  means  to  counteract 
this  tendency.  For  this  purpose  the  customs  and  regulations  of  the 
Army  emphasize  the  necessity  for  personal  neatness  and  cleanliness. 
The  good  soldier  keeps  close  watch  on  himself. 

Besides  his  extra  clothing  a  soldier  carries  a  blanket;  a  rubber 
poncho ;  a  canteen ;  a  mess  kit,  including  meat  can,  knife,  fork,  and 
spoon;  a  cup;  toilet  articles;  a  first-aid  package;  and  some  minor 
belongings. 

One  of  the  most  useful  pieces  is  one-half  of  a  shelter  tent,  with 
rope  and  pins.  The  shelter  tent  is  said  to  be  a  French  invention 
which  was  introduced  into  the  American  Army  during  the  Civil 
War.  In  the  Army  it  is  often  called  a  "  dog  tent,"  evidently  because 
of  its  shape  and  small  size.  Two  men  can  combine  their  halves  and 
set  up  a  shelter  tent  in  a  few  minutes.  While  it  can  not  be  described 
as  roomy,  it  is  just  what  its  name  implies,  a  "shelter"  from  wind 
and  rain.    It  is  used  only  in  temporary  camps. 

Your  chief  fighting  tools  will  be  a  rifle,  a  bayonet  in  a  scabbard,  a 
cartridge  belt,  and  an  intrenching  tool.  Other  weapons  or  defenses 
needed  in  modern  trench  warfare  will  be  referred  to  later.  Do  not 
under  any  circumstances  lose  track  of  these  articles  while  on  field 
duty.  So  long  as  you  possess  them,  you  are  an  armed  soldier  capable 
of  defending  yourself  and  of  performing  effective  service.    Without 


21 

them  you  arc  for  all  practical  purposes  helpless.  Of  course,  this 
statement  docs  not  apply  strictly  to  those  men  who  are  armed  in 
some  other  way,  such  as  those  who  are  serving  artillery  or  machine 
guns. 

The  rifle  is  the  soldier's  closest  friend.  His  first  thought  should 
be  to  guard  it  and  care  for  it  above  all  his  other  possessions.  He  ex- 
pects it  to  take  care  of  him  in  emergencies.  In  ordinary  times  he 
must  take  care  of  it. 

In  caring  for  a  rifle  it  is  especially  imj^ortant  to  keep  the  bore 
clean.  In  so  doing  be  sure  to  avoid  injuring  the  delicate  rifling  which 
causes  the  bullet  to  spin  as  it  is  forced  out  and  thus  greatly  increases 
the  accuracy  of  firing.  Never  put  away  a  rifle  that  has  been  fired  or 
exposed  to  bad  weather  without  first  cleaning  it.  Never  lay  a  rifle 
flat  on  the  ground.  Best  it  securely  against  something.  In  lowering 
the  rifle  to  tiie  ground,  whether  during  drilling  or  at  any  other  time, 
see  that  it  touches  the  ground  gently. 

Don't  play  with  your  rifle.  A  rifle  or  revolver,  whether  loaded 
or  unloaded,  should  never  be  pointed  at  a  person  unless  you  fully 
intend  to  shoot  that  person,  if  necessary,  in  the  performance  of  your 
duty.  AVhen  a  firearm  is  put  into  your  hands  you  are  intrusted  with 
a  great  responsibility  for  its  proper  use. 

Anybody  in  normal  physical  condition  can  learn  to  be  a  good  shot. 
Two  of  the  most  important  points  to  remember  are  to  take  a  deep 
breath  just  before  completing  your  aim  so  that  you  may  hold  the  rifle 
Avith  perfect  steadiness,  and  to  squeeze  the  trigger  so  that  tiie  gun 
will  not  be  jerked  from  its  aim  at  the  moment  of  firing.  When  you 
become  an  expert  marksman  (provided  you  have  also  the  courage 
which  permits  you  to  remain  cool  and  collected  on  the  battle  field) 
you  will  have  added  immensely  to  your  value  as  a  citizen  soldier. 
The  simple  fact  that  you  qualify  as  a  marksman  will  give  you  more 
self-confidence  and  self-control. 

The  amount  of  ammunition  which  an  American  infantryman  car- 
ries into  battle  is  usually  220  rounds.  In  an  advanced  firing  posi- 
tion, where  it  is  difficult  to  bring  up  reserves  of  ammunition,  it  is 
necessary  to  be  economical.  Bear  this  in  mind  during  your  target 
practice  and  learn  to  make  every  shot  count. 

In  modern  warfare  the  intrenching  tool  is  an  essential  part  of 
your  fighting  equipment.  The  eight  men  in  each  squad  carry  these 
8  tools :  4  shovels,  2  pick  mattocks,  1  polo  or  hand  ax,  and  1  wire 
cutter.  In  ordinary  soil  you  can  quickly  throw  up  a  shallow  trench 
which  will  protect  you  to  a  great  extent  from  the  enemy's  fire. 
After  a  trench  has  once  been  started,  it  can  be  deepened  and  ex- 
tended, even  in  the  face  of  the  enemy,  w'ithout  the  soldier  exposing 
himself  to  direct  fire. 

Don't  look  on  })ractice  in  digging  trenches  as  if  it  were  drudgery. 
Skill  in  seeking  and  nuiking  cover  from  the  enemy's  fire  is  far  from 
being  a  sign  of  weakness  on  the  soldier's  part.  Kather  it  is  a  sign 
of  tlie  determination  and  courage  that  mark  a  really  efficient  fighting 
force.  The  day  has  gone  by  when  either  officers  or  men  are  expected 
to  stand  out  in  the  open.  They  should  use  every  effective  method  of 
self- protection  so  long  as  it  helps  to  gain  ground  and  defeat  the 
enemy. 


22 
LESSON  NO.  10.  f 

RECREATION   IN   CAMP. 

While  your  days  in  the  cantonments  will  be  spent  chiefly  in  drill- 
ing and  other  forms  of  training,  you  will  have  a  considerable  amount 
of  time  left  free  for  your  own  use.  Under  some  conditions  ])ermis- 
sion  may  be  given  at  times  to  leave  the  cantonment  for  short  periods. 
However,  this  is  a  matter  to  be  regulated  in  each  camp. 

If  you  do  go  away  from  the  camp  on  leave,  you  will  continue  to 
wear  your  uniform,  and  will  keep  in  mind  always  that  you  remain  a 
soldier,  subject  to  certain  requirements  that  are  not  so  definitely  im- 
posed on  civilians.  In  meeting  officers,  whether  in  camp  or  outside, 
you  are  expected  always  to  treat  them  with  proper  courtesy  and 
respect.  You  should  remember  also,  even  though  you  are  not  directly 
under  supervision,  to  keep  up  your  soldierly  neatness  and  bearing. 

Congress  has  provided  that  "  it  shall  be  unlawful  to  sell  any  in- 
toxicating liquor,  including  beer,  ale,  or  wine,  to  any  officer  or  mem- 
ber of  the  military  forces  while  in  uniform,"  an  exception  being 
made  in  a  case  of  liquor  required  for  medical  purposes.  Under 
authority  of  the  same  act  it  has  also  been  ruled  that  alcoholic  liquors 
shall  not  be  sold  within  5  miles  of  any  military  camp,  an  exception 
being  made  in  case  there  is  an  incorporated  city  or  town  within  that 
limit.  It  has  further  been  provided  that  "  the  keeping  or  setting  up 
of  houses  of  ill  fame,  brothels,  or  bawdy  houses  within  5  miles  of 
any  military  camp  *  *  *  i'g  prohibited."  All  these  provisions 
and  restrictions  are  in  the  interest  of  every  right-minded  soldier. 
They  go  a  long  way  toward  insuring  clean  and  healthful  living  con- 
ditions in  the  camps.  They  will  help  to  make  every  soldier  more 
efficient  and  better  able  to  give  a  good  account  of  himself. 

One  of  the  centers  of  Army  life  in  camp  is  the  post  exchange,  at 
which  articles  for  personal  use,  knickknacks,  soft  drinks,  and  so  on, 
are  sold.  You  will  be  safe  in  depending  on  the  good  quality  and  fair 
price  of  everything  offered  in  the  post  exchange. 

In  general  the  matter  of  providing  for  recreation  and  personal 
comforts  in  the  cantonments  has  been  intrusted  by  the  Secretary  of 
War  to  a  small  body  of  men  known  as  the  Commission  on  Training 
Camp  Activities.  The  commission  includes  an  Army  officer  and  rep- 
resentatives of  organizations  that  have  had  much  experience  in  meet- 
ing the  needs  of  men  of  the  type  who  will  go  into  the  National  Army. 
It  will  have  the  cooperation  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tion and  the  Knights  of  Columbus.  Other  associations  may  also 
work  with  the  commission.  This  task  of  attending  to  the  social  needs 
of  the  soldiers  has  been  organized  with  almost  as  much  care  and 
thoroughness  as  the  bigger  task  of  making  ready  for  the  firing  line. 

The  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  is  building  a  hut  for  the 
men  in  each  brigade.  In  these  huts  moving-picture  or  vaudeville 
shows  will  be  given  every  night.  Writing  materials  can  be  had  for 
the  asking.  A  piano  will  be  at  hand.  The  Knights  of  Columbusr 
will  have  one  large  building  in  each  camp,  in  which  there  will  be 
facilities  of  the  same  kind. 

Both  these  organizations  will  conduct  religious  services  every 
Sunday.     Men  of  all  creeds  will  be  welcome.     The  secretaries  and 


23 

other  officers  in  charge  will  be  glad  at  any  time  to  talk  over  any 
personal  problems  and  to  help  you  in  any  way  they  can.  They  are 
picked  because  of  their  willingness  and  skill  in  rendering  service. 
They  will  always  make  you  welcome.  Get  in  touch  with  either  of 
these  organizations  as  soon  as  you  have  opportunity  after  you  reach 
camp.  The  chaplain  attaciied  to  each  regiment  also  looks  after  the 
spiritual  and  moral  welfare  of  the  men. 

In  every  cantonment  there  will  be  a  complete  library  building 
where  you  will  be  able  to  obtain  books  and  magazines  of  all  kinds. 
This  is  arranged  with  the  help  of  the  American  Library  Association. 

In  each  cantonment  the  Coumiission  on  Training  Camp  Activities 
is  erecting  a  large  auditorium.  This  is  to  be  used  partly  as  a 
theater  and  partly  for  athletic  instruction.  Some  of  the  best  the- 
atrical companies  in  the  country  will  put  on  Broadway  productions 
for  your  benefit.  These  performances  will  be  free.  A  place  will 
be  provided  for  everyone. 

Those  men  who  like  singing  will  have  plenty  of  chance  to  enjoy 
"  sing  songs  "  on  a  big  scale.  The  commission  has  secured  the  serv- 
ices of  well-known  chorus  leaders  to  take  charge  of  camp  singing. 

A  great  deal  of  attention  has  been  given  to  athletics.  An  expert 
will  give  boxing  lessons  to  large  groups  of  men.  This  instruction  is 
voluntary,  but  it  will  be  well  worth  your  while  to  attend. 

In  some  of  the  camps  where  bathing  beaches  are  not  far  away  in- 
struction will  be  given  in  swimming. 

Team  athletics,  such  as  baseball,  basketball,  and  football,  will  be 
developed  under  the  guidance  of  expert  coaches.  One  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  commission  will  be  in  general  charge  of  this  line  of 
activity  in  all  the  camps. 

Of  course  all  these  facilities  are  for  use  in  your  spare  time  only. 
They  are  not  to  interfere  with  the  steady  process  of  training  which 
alone  can  make  you  a  real  soldier.  However,  you  will  enjoy  your 
hours  of  recreation  all  the  more  because  they  have  been  preceded  by 
hours  of  hard  work.  The  recreation  as  well  as  the  work  has  its  place 
in  the  general  plan  for  turning  out  an  efficient  army  of  self-reliant 
citizen  soldiers  in  the  quickest  possible  time. 


LESSON  NO.  11. 

PLAYING  THE  GAME. 

There  is  a  gripping  interest  about  the  soldier's  life  that  makes  a 
strong  appeal  to  vigorous  Americans.  This  is  doubly  true  in  time 
of  war,  when  the  soldier  has  a  serious  object  in  view  and  gives  his 
whole  mind  to  his  new  duties. 

You  will  find  this  interest  growing  as  you  advance.  New  scenes 
and  associates  will  bring  you  a  new  point  of  view.  You  will  be  less 
wrapped  up  than  you  have  been  in  many  ])urely  personal  questions. 
You  will  cut  loose  from  many  of  the  petty  details  which  tend  to 
smother  a  man's  individuality.  You  will  devote  more  time  to 
thinking. 

The  healthy  good  fellowship  of  the  camp  also  can  not  fail  to 
stimulate  vou.    Thousands  of  men  drawn  from  all  walks  of  life  can 


24 

not  be  thrown  suddenly  together  without  bringing  to  light  nuiny 
qualities  previously  unknown.  You  will  probably  become  better 
acquainted  with  yourself  than  you  have  ever  been  before. 

In  ordsr  to  get  the  most  out  of  this  new  life,  you  must  devote 
yourself  to  it  heart  and  soul.  A  good  start  is  half  the  battle  in 
making  your  way  in  the  Army.  Even  if  you  are  not  noAv  much 
interested  in  military  affairs — if  you  are  entering  the  service,  not 
because  of  personal  inclination,  but  solely  because  it  is  one  of  your 
obligations  as  a  citizen — you  are  going  to  become  keenly  interested 
after  you  once  get  into  the  swing  and  spirit  of  the  Army.  This  will 
be  true  in  at  least  ninety-nine  cases  out  of  every  hundred.  Eecog- 
nize  it  now  and  play  the  game  hard  from  the  very  start. 

YOUR  MONTHLY  PAY. 

Wliile  the  men  in  the  National  Army  are  serving  at  the  call  of 
duty  and  not  for  money,  nevertheless  everyone  will  be  paid  more  than 
enough  to  take  care  of  all  necessary  expenses.  These  expenses  are 
very  slight.  Clothing,  food,  and  transportation  are  provided  by  the 
Government.  In  addition,  the  private  soldier  receives  $30  per  month 
vvhile  he  is  in  the  United  States  and  $33  per  month  while  he  is  abroad. 
Following  is  a  table  which  shows  the  pay  for  some  of  the  higher  non- 
commissioned ranks: 


Rank, 


Private 

First-class  private. 

Corporal 

Sergeant 

First  sergeant 


Monthly  pay. 


In  United 
States. 


S30.00 
33.00 
36.00 
38.00 
51.00 


Abroad. 


833.00 
36.60 
40,20 
44.00 
60.00 


fV  man  may  allot  such  portions  of  his  pay  as  he  desires  for  the 
support  of  his  family  or  relatives.  He  may  deposit  his  savings  with 
any  quartermaster  in  sums  of  not  less  than  $5,  The  quartermaster 
will  furnish  to  each  depositor  a  book  giving  record  of  his  deposits. 
On  the  discharge  of  a  soldier  (but  not  before)  the  total  amount  of 
his  deposits  will  be  entered  on  his  final  statement  and  will  be  paid 
to  him  on  presentation  of  his  deposit  book. 

The  rate  of  interest  allowance  is  4  per  cent.  This  is  one  con- 
venient method  of  saving  money  which  many  soldiers  will  desire  to 
use.     It  is  easier  to  save  in  the  Army  than  it  is  in  civil  life. 

Saving  money  is  not  only  good  in  itself  but  is  a  sign  that  you  are 
concentrating  your  time  and  energy  on  your  military  duties;  that 
you  are  really  playing  the  game. 

The  majority  of  the  men  who  join  the  National  Army  are  old 
enough  and  have  sufficient  good  sense  and  self-control  to  conduct 
themselves  projierly,  both  on  duty  and  off  duty,  without  special 
advice  or  supervision.  However,  some  suggestions  may  prove 
helpful. 


25 

A  man  in  uniform  is  always  regarded,  whether  he  wishes  it  or  not, 
as  a  representative  of  the  army  to  which  he  belongs.  See  to  it  that 
you  conduct  yourself  in  such  a  way  to  add  your  bit,  not  only  to  your 
own  reputation,  but  to  the  reputation  of  the  Army  and  of  the 
country. 

MAKING  USE  OF  SPARE  TIME. 

The  use  that  a  man  makes  of  his  time  off  duty  is  a  good  test  of  his 
character  and  of  his  capacity  for  growth.  The  good  soldier  is  self- 
restrained.  Don't  spend  your  time  repeating  indecent  stories. 
They  add  nothing  whatever  to  your  standing,  either  with  the  men 
to  whom  you  tell  them  or  w^ith  your  officers.  Avoid  boisterousness, 
vulgarity,  and  profanity. 

This  doesn't  mean  at  all  that  you  should  keep  yourself  in  the  back- 
ground or  that  you  should  fail  to  be  a  good  "mixer."  Let  your 
personality  stand  out.  Broaden  your  influence  by  every  proper 
method.  But  use  your  personality  and  your  influence  to  help  the 
men  in  your  own  squad  and  company  carry  on  their  work  and  pre- 
pare as  quickly  as  possible  for  the  big  task  ahead  of  you. 

Save  some  of  your  spare  time  for  study.  The  manuals  and  drill 
regulations  will  grow  more  and  more  interesting  to  you  as  you 
become  more  familiar  with  your  new  duties.  Memorize  some  of  the 
important  passages.  Make  yourself  an  authority  on  everything  that 
pertains  to  company  drill. 

These  are  simple  rules  that  will  help  any  man,  whether  in  or  out 
of  the  Army,  to  make  himself  liked  and  respected.  They  are  easy 
rules  to  observe.  Follow  them,  and  you  will  add  greatly  to  your 
enjoyment  of  Army  life  and  to  your  chances  for  promotion. 


LESSON  NO.  12. 
TEAMWORK  IN  THE  ARMY. 

So  far  in  this  course  we  have  been  taking  up  some  of  the  problems 
which  each  soldier  has  to  face  and  solve  for  himself;  how  to  adjust 
himself  as  quickly  as  possible  to  the  routine  of  camp  life;  how  to 
keep  himself  and  all  his  belongings  clean  in  spite  of  the  difliculties  in 
the  way;  how  to  look  after  his  own  health  and  comfort;  how  to  take 
care  of  arms  and  equipment;  and  how  to  get  real  enjoyment,  as  well 
as  benefit,  out  of  Army  life. 

If  the  course  were  to  stop  just  at  this  point  it  might  leave  in  your 
mind  a  false  impression.  For  after  all  the  soldier  is  not  an  indi- 
vidual player  in  the  great  game  of  war;  he  is  valuable  chiefly  as  a 
member  of  a  team.  It  is  a  team  of  enormous  size.  It  is  organized  in 
rather  a  complicated  way.    This  team  ,we  call  the  Army. 

Your  Ami}'  life  will  be  more  interesting  if  you  know  in  a  general 
way  how  the  team  is  organized.  This  will  enable  you  to  see  more 
clearly  where  you  fit  in  and  wliat  is  expected  of  you. 

If  you  have  been  working  for  a  business  concern  you  are  already 
familiar  with  many  of  the  elements  of  Army  organization.  You  have 
been  in  touch  with  the  same  things  under  different  names. 


26 

NEED   FOR  TEAM   WORK. 

In  a  factory  or  store  or  office — wherever  large  numbers  of  people 
are  working  together — there  is  almost  always  some  one  in  direct 
charge  of  each  group  of  workers.  This  person  may  be  called  a  fore- 
man in  the  shop,  a  chief  clerk  in  an  office,  a  floor  walker  in  a  depart- 
ment store,  or  by  any  one  of  a  number  of  other  titles;  in  the  Army 
we  call  him  a  corporal  or  a  sergeant.  Going  up  a  step,  you  know  that 
in  every  large  concern  there  are  numerous  officers  who  take  charge  of 
various  departments  of  the  business  such  as  the  superintendent,  the 
traffic  manager,  the  advertising  manager,  the  sales  manager,  the  sec- 
retary, the  vice  president,  and  so  on ;  in  the  Army  we  call  the  men  in 
corresponding  positions  captains,  majors,  colonels,  and  generals. 
Finally,  you  have  at  the  top  of  the  business  concern  a  president  or 
a  general  manager,  who  directs  everything;  in  the  Army  he  is  a  com- 
manding general. 

This  general  likeness  between  business  organization  and  Army 
organization  is  helpful,  but  must  not  be  carried  too  far.  There  is  one 
vital  difference:  The  average  business  concern  is  somewhat  easy-go- 
ing ;  the  responsibility  for  each  piece  of  work  is  not  always  definitely 
fixed.  In  the  Army  everybody,  on  the  other  hand,  is  held  to  the 
strictest  account.  There  is  very  seldom  any  doubt  as  to  the  man  to  be 
held  responsible  for  each  task. 

RESPONSIBILITY  ALWAYS  FIXED. 

Within  each  rank,  from  major  general  to  private,  every  man  has 
his  individual  ranking,  depending  upon  his  length  of  service  in  the 
office  which  he  holds.  This  ranking  insures  that  in  every  situation 
somebody  always  has  authority  and  is  responsible  for  whatever  is 
done.  Even  if  two  private  soldiers  are  working  together  without 
supervision,  the  one  who  has  been  longer  in  the  service  takes  charge 
and  the  other  must  obe}'  his  orders.    This  rule  applies  everywhere. 

In  civilian  life  there  is  time  for  argument.  You  may  have  better 
ideas  that  your  boss  about  how  a  certain  thing  should  be  done  and 
possibly  may  convince  him  and  get  his  original  orders  changed.  In 
Army  life  nothing  of  this  kind  can  be  permitted.  The  officer  in 
charge  always  has  the  full  responsibility.  Whatever  orders  he  gives 
must  be  instantly  obeyed.  It  is  far  better  to  take  action,  even  though 
the  thing  may  not  be  done  in  the  best  possible  way,  than  it  is  to 
stand  still  and  debate.  Lack  of  immediate  action  in  the  crisis  of  a 
battle  might  mean  that  the  Arm}'-  would  be  defeated,  thousands  of 
lives  lost,  and  possibly  the  honor  of  the  country  stained. 

Think  oA^er  this  difference  between  Army  organization  and  civilian 
organization.  The  longer  you  think  about  it,  the  more  clearly  you 
will  see  why  your  own  interests  demand  that  you  should  fit  into  your 
place  in  the  Army  and  follo\v  instructions  much  more  strictly  than 
is  necessary  in  civil  life. 

The  Army  is  governed  by  military  law.  This  means  that  soldiers 
are  not  brought  to  trial  in  civil  courts,  except  for  certain  serious 
crimes,  but  are  subject  to  military  courts  of  inquiry,  summary  courts, 
and  courts-martial.  However,  this  will  never  he  a  question  of  much 
importance  to  the  great  majority  of  men  in  the  National  Army. 


27 

SUCCESS  IN   WINNING  VICTORIES. 

Success  in  winning  victories  is  the  object  for  which  the  Army 
exists.  In  comparison  nothing  else  counts.  Every  olficer  and  every 
soldier  must  be  ready  to  make  any  sacrifice,  big  or  little,  to  accom- 
plish this  object.  An  officer  may  spend  years  in  working  out  solu- 
tions to  military  problems,  only  to  find  in  the  end  that  all  the  credit 
for  what  he  has  done  is  swallowed  up  in  the  general  reputation  of 
the  Army.  If  this  proves  to  be  the  case,  he  has  no  cause  for  com- 
plaint. It  is  the  rule  of  the  Army  that  everything  must  be  done 
for  the  good  of  the  service." 

In  the  same  way  you  may  be  called  upon  to  carry  through,  some 
dangerous  mission  or  to  }~>erform  unpleasant  duties.  Every  such  call 
is  an  opportunity  to  show  your  loyalty  to  the  service  and  to  the 
Nation.  Remember  in  all  these  cases  that  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
other  men  in  the  Arm}',  from  top  to  bottom,  like  yourself  are  working 
first  and  all  the  time  for  the  success  of  the  team. 

It  is  usually  the  Army  with  the  strongest  team  spirit  that  fights 
its  way  through  to  victory.  Try  to  cultivate  that  spirit  in  the 
National  Army,  both  in  yourself  and  among  your  comrades. 


LESSON  NO.  13. 

GROUPING  MEN  INTO  TEAMS. 

Note. — This  lesson  is  based  upon  the  present  organization  of  the  United 
States  Army.     Some  changes  may  be  made  later. 

The  smallest  unit  or  "  team  "  in  the  Army  is  the  squad.  A  squad 
usually  consists  of  eight  men,  one  of  whom  is  the  leader;  he  is  called 
the  "  corporal."  You  will  be  assigned  to  a  squad  almost  at  once 
on  entering  the  Army.  At  first  you  may  be  shifted  about  con- 
siderably from  one  squad  to  another,  but  within  a  short  time  you  and 
seven  other  men  will  be  brought  together  as  a  permanent  team.  This 
means  that  you  will  work  together,  drill  together,  and  sleep  in  the 
same  tent  or  in  the  same  section  of  the  barracks.  You  will  come 
to  know  the  other  men  in  the  squad  through  and  through  and  they 
will  become  equally  well  acquainted  with  you.  Some  of  them  will 
probably  grow  to  be  your  close  and  lifelong  friends.  On  the  other 
hand,  there  may  be  one  or  two  men  whom  you  dislike  or  do  not 
respect. 

THE  SQUAD  UNIT. 

In  any  case  remember  this :  The  eight  men  in  a  squad  form  a  team 
in  the  same  sense  that  a  baseball  nine  or  a  football  eleven  is  a  team. 
Your  squad  is  competing  with  all  the  other  squads  in  3'our  com- 
pany. Whenever  it  shows  itself  especially  well  drilled,  quick  to 
learn  new  duties,  or  careful  in  respect  to  cleanliness  and  general 
bearing  you  pile  up  a  few  points  in  your  favor.  The  umpires  are 
the  officers  of  5'our  company ;  and  you  may  be  certain  they  are  watch- 
ing your  squad  every  minute  of  the  day — not  watching  for  chances 
to  criticize,  but  watching  hopefully  for  signs  of  soldierly  spirit  and 
intelligence. 


28 

It  is  your  first  duty  to  help  your  own  squad  make  a  good  showing. 
Also  it  is  to  your  own  interest  to  do  so.  There  is  no  more  pleasure 
or  reward  for  you  in  belonging  to  a  poor  squad  than  there  is  for  a 
ball  player  in  belonging  to  a  losing  team.  Take  pride  in  your  squad 
and  its  good  work.  If  you  find  you  have  one  man  among  you  who  is 
lazy  or  childish,  try  to  get  him  into  a  different  attitude.  Every  squad 
has  at  least  one  weak  link.  The  best  way  to  handle  him  is  to  talk  to 
him  until  you  get  him  as  much  interested  as  you  in  making  your 
squad  rank  as  the  best  in  the  company. 

Incidentally,  your  captain  is  not  likely  to  overlook  the  best  squad 
when  it  comes  to  picking  men  for  promotion. 

THE  PLATOON  AND   THE   COMPANY. 

Two,  three,  or  four  squads  (usually  three)  may  be  joined  in  the 
next  higher  unit,  which  is  called  a  "  platoon."  The  platoon,  how- 
ever, is  not  so  permanent  as  a  squad,  but  is  formed  whenever  there  is 
need  for  it  in  drilling  or  on  the  firing  line. 

Next  comes  the  company,  which  is  made  up  at  full  strength  of  150 
men ;  this  is  about  18  squads  or  6  platoons.  This  number  is  "  war 
strength  "  in  our  old  tables  of  organization ;  the  first  division  now  in 
France  has  200  men  per  company ;  it  is  probable  the  strength  may  be 
250  per  Infantry  company.  However,  these  figures  for  the  number 
of  squads  and  of  platoons  are  never  definitely  fixed.  A  company  in 
the  field  is  very  seldom  at  full  strength,  and  it  may  be  convenient 
at  any  time  to  change  the  numbers  of  squads  and  platoons. 

The  company  is  a  perm^anent  "  team  "  in  the  sense  in  which  we 
have  been  using  that  word.  Its  members  always  live  together,  eat 
together,  drill  together,  and  fight  together.  All  the  officers  and  sol- 
diers in  a  company  become  Avell  acquainted.  Each  man's  points  of 
strength  and  of  weakness  are  known.  Outside  of  your  own  com- 
pany you  will  probably  know  very  few  men,  only  those  with  whom 
you  come  into  touch  by  accident  or  while  you  are  serving  on  some 
special  duty.  This  is  something  worth  thinking  about.  You  are 
probably  going  to  live,  eat,  drill,  and  fight  with  the  other  men  in 
your  company  so  long  as  you  remain  in  the  Army.  The  sensible 
thing  to  do  is  to  conduct  yourself  in  such  a  waj^  as  to  command  the 
liking  and  respect  of  these  men  from  the  very  beginning. 

Four  companies  are  joined  in  a  "  battalion."  The  battalion  is  an 
important  unit  in  the  Army  organization,  but  is  not  so  clearly  marked 
as  either  the  company  or  the  regiment. 

REGIMENTS,  BRIGADES,   AND  DIVISIONS. 

The  regiment  consists  of  3  battalions,  making  12  companies.  In 
addition,  there  arc  three  special  companies  which  do  not  belong  to 
any  of  the  battalions.  These  are  the  head(]uarters  company,  in- 
cluding the  band  and  the  color  guard ;  the  machine-gun  company,  to 
bo  referred  to  later;  and  the  supply  company,  responsible  for  the 
regiment's  food,  ammunition,  and  other  supplies.  Counting  in 
everyone,  the  regiment  at  full  strength  in  our  old  tables  of  organiza- 
tion totals  2,058  officers  and  men.  It  will  go  more  than  this  with 
the  increase  in  strength  of  companies.     Two  thousand  six  hundred 


29 

and  thirtj'-one  is  the  strengtli  of  Infantry  regiments  in  the  first  ex- 
l)oditionary  division.  The  regiment  is,  of  course,  very  sehlom  at 
full  strength,  but  is  never  allowed  to  remain  below  a  minimum 
strength  of  about  1,400. 

The  regiment  is  the  unit  that  especially  arouses  the  soldiers'  pi-ide 
and  loyalty.  The  most  cherished  traditions  of  the  Army  are  made 
up  of  the  splendid  deeds  of  famous  regiments.  The  soldier  identi- 
fies himself  throughout  his  life  by  naming  his  regiment.  His  love 
for  the  Army  centers  in  his  regiment.  His  most  sacred  memories 
cluster  aroimd  the  regimental  battle  Hags. 

Two  regiments  are  joined  in  a  brigade.  Thus  the  brigade  is  built 
up  by  assembling  individual  soldiers  into  squads;  squads  into  pla- 
toons; platoons  into  companies;  companies  into  battalions;  battalions 
into  regiments;  and  regiments  into  brigades. 

Brigades  may  in  turn  be  joined  to  form  divisions,  divisions  may  be 
joined  to  form  corps,  and  corps  to  form  field  ai-mies.  All  of  the 
Army's  divisions  and  separate  detachments  and  departments  taken 
together  form  the  "  big  team  " — that  is  to  say,  the  United  States  Army. 
The  make-up  of  the  big  team  is  treated  in  a  later  lesson. 


LESSON  NO.  14. 

THE  TEAM  LEADERS. 

Most  of  the  men  in  the  Army  are  private  soldiers.  Their  work  is 
of  the  greatest  importance  and  deserves  all  the  respect  and  praise 
which  it  receives.  A  great  many  men  in  the  National  Army,  how- 
ever, will  be  ambitious  to  rise  to  higher  ranks.  They  will  find  plenty 
of  encouragement  and  of  opportunities  for  promotion. 

If  you  are  one  of  these  men,  don't  allow  yourself  to  forget  the  fact 
that  you  can  win  promotion  only  by  proving  your  fitness  in  each 
duty  intrusted  to  you.  It  is  a  rare  case  when  a  man  is  "  jumped  " 
several  ranks  ahead.  As  a  rule,  he  climbs  from  one  rank  to  the  next 
higher  rank  after  having  demonstrated  in  each  position  his  intelli- 
gence, honor,  and  reliability. 

Even  as  a  private,  you  may  win  advancement  to  the  grade^  known 
as  first-class  privates.  About  one-fourth  of  the  privates  in  each 
company  may  be  given  the  rating  "  first  class,"  which  means  in  sub- 
stance that  they  are  regarded  as  skilled  and  trustworthy  soldiers. 

NONCOMMISSIONED   OFFICERS. 

From  the  first-class  privates  are  usually  chosen  the  corporals. 
These  are  the  s(|uad  leaders.  They  are  appointed  by  the  command- 
ing officer  of  the  regiment  on  the  recommendation  of  the  command- 
ing officer  of  the  company.  In  addition  to  the  regularly  appointed 
corporals  each  company  may  have  one  lance  corporal.  This  is  a 
temporary  appointment  made  by  the  company  commander  for  the 
purpose  of  testing  the  ability  of  some  private  whom  he  is  thinking 
of  recommending  for  permanent  appointment.  In  case  the  lance 
corporal  does  not  make  a  good  showing,  or  for  any  other  reason,  he 
may  be  returned  to  the  ranks  when  the  conmiander  of  the  company 
sees  fit. 


30 

Next  above  the  corporal  in  rank  comes  the  sergeant.  There  are 
Visually  9  to  11  sergeants  in  a  company.  Unless  a  sei-geant  has  some 
other  duty  assigned  to  him,  he  is  normally  the  leader  of  a  platoon. 
There  are,  however,  many  special  duties  constantly  assigned  to  ser- 
geants. The  first  sergeant  (in  Army  slang,  the  "top  sergeant"), 
lor  example,  keeps  certain  company  records,  forms  the  company  in 
ranks,  transmits  orders  from  the  company  commander,  and  performs 
many  other  important  tasks.  The  supply  sergeant  sees  to  bringing 
up  supplies  of  all  kinds  to  the  company.  The  mess  sergeant  looks 
after  food.  The  stable  sergeant  is  responsible  for  the  proper  care  of 
horses  and  mules.  The  color  sergeant  carries  the  national  or  regi- 
mental colors.  There  are  many  other  grades  within  the  rank  of  ser- 
geant W'hich  can  not  be  described  here.  You  will  gradually  become 
familiar  with  them  during  your  Army  experience. 

COMMISSIONED   OFFICERS. 

Sergeant  and  corporals  are  known  as  noncommissioned  officers, 
because  they  are  appointed  by  their  regimental  commanding  officer. 
Officers  of  higher  ranks  are  known  as  commissioned,  since  they 
hold  their  rank  by  virtue  of  a  commission  issued  to  them  under 
authority  of  the  President  of  the  United  States.  The  commissioned 
officer  is  thus  on  quite  a  different  footing  from  the  "noncom"  (non- 
commissioned officer).  He  obtains  his  rank  and  authority  from  a 
higher  source.  He  is  treated  with  respect  which  is  of  a  different 
character  from  that  extended  to  a  noncommissioned  officer.  This  is 
one  of  the  fundamental  things  in  Army  organization. 

Lowest  ill  rank  among  the  commissioned  officers  is  the  second 
lieutenant.  Above  him  comes  the  first  lieutenant  and  above  him  the 
captain.  These  are  the  three  "  company  officers."  The  captain  is 
ordinarily  the  commanding  officer  of  a  company,  while  the  lieutenants 
might  be  described  as  assistant  captains.  In  the  absence  or  disa- 
bility of  the  captain,  however,  the  first  lieutenant  takes  his  place  and 
has  full  command,  and  in  the  absence  or  disability  of  both  the  second 
lieutenant  takes  the  command. 

Next  above  the  captain  is  the  major,  whose  proper  command  is  a 
battalion.  A  step  higher  is  the  lieutenant  colonel  and  above  him  the 
colonel,  the  commanding  officer  of  a  regiment.  The  lieutenant  col- 
onel ordinarily  assists  the  colonel  and  in  his  absence  takes  the  com- 
mand. In  case  both  the  lieutenant  colonel  and  the  colonel  are  dis- 
abled or  absent,  the  senior  major  takes  the  command. 

THE  GENERAL   OFFICERS. 

Above  the  colonel  is  the  brigadier  general,  whose  proper  com- 
mand is  a  brigade.  Above  the  brigadier  general  is  the  major  gen- 
eral, the  highest  rank  at  present  held  by  any  officer  of  the  Amencan 
Army. 

One  general,  however,  serves  as  Chief  of  Staff  of  the  Army.  As 
such  he  supervises  all  troops  and  departments  of  the  military  service. 
He  in  turn  reports  to  the  Secretary  of  War.  The  Secretary  of  War 
in  his  turn  acts  under  the  general  direction  of  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  who  is  the  Commander  in  Chief. 


31 

The  chain  of  authority  reaches  in  an  unbroken  line  all  the  way 
from  the  President  to  the  newest  recruit.  If  the  President  chooses 
to  give  an  order  which  in  any  way  affects  the  recruit,  it  passes  through 
the  Secretary  of  War,  Chief  of  Staff,  major  general,  brigadier  gen- 
eral, colonel,  major,  captain,  sergeant,  and  possibly  corporal  until  the 
recruit  is  reached  and  the  order  obeyed. 

Ordinarily  only  the  most  general  instructions  are  issued  by  the 
higher  oflicers.  The  manner  in  which  these  instructions  shall  be 
carried  out  is  left  to  the  judgment  of  officers  in  closer  contact  with 
the  troops  and  with  a  more  intimate  knowledge  of  the  conditions 
under  which  they  are  working. 


LESSON  NO.  15. 

FIGHTING  ARMS  OF  THE  SERVICE. 

We  have  spoken  so  far  as  if  all  soldiers  were  infantrymen ;  that  is, 
as  if  all  fought  on  foot  armed  with  rifle  and  bayonet.  As  we  all 
know,  an  army  is  much  more  complex.  There  are  two  other  "  fight- 
ing arms  "  of  the  service — the  Cavalry  and  the  Artillery.  These 
three  branches  of  the  Army  are  sometimes  called  the  "  line,"  a  term 
which  comes  down  to  us  from  the  day  when  soldiers  in  battle  were 
always  drawn  up  in  line.  The  other  branches,  to  be  described  later, 
are  included  under  the  general  term  "  Staff."  However,  the  Engineer 
Corps  and  the  Signal  Corps  are  in  part  troops  of  the  line,  though 
they  are  herein  described  for  convenience  under  the  heading  of  "  Staff 
branches  of  the  service." 

The  Infantry  is  the  backbone  of  the  Army.  "  It  is  the  Infantry 
soldier  who  must  bear  the  greatest  stress  of  battle,  and  war  is  more 
dependent  for  success  upon  his  individual  action  than  ui^on  any 
other  factor."  By  far  the  largest  number  of  men  in  the  National 
Army  will  go  into  the  Infantry  branch  of  the  service.  In  the  present 
war  the  importance  of  Infantry  is  even  greater  than  in  previous  wars. 

THE   VALUE    OF  INFANTRY. 

It  is  not  enough  for  Infantry  to  know  how  to  defend  itself.  It 
must  know  also  liow  to  attack.  It  is  not  enough  that  it  should  be  able 
to  move  forward  in  masses.  The  Infantry  soldier  must  also  have  the 
intelligent  self-reliance  that  will  enable  him  to  act  as  an  individual; 
always,  of  course,  within  the  limits  of  military  discipline. 

The  chances  for  initiative  in  present-day  warfare  can  best  be  illus- 
trated by  recounting  the  story  of  Michael  O'Leary,  a  lance  corporal 
of  the  Irish  Guards  in  the  British  Army.  On  February  1,  1915,  the 
Guards  were  ordered  to  retake  a  trench  which  had  been  temporarily 
lost  to  the  Germans.  O'Leary  was  off  duty  and  need  not  have  joined 
in  the  attack  at  all.  But  that  did  not  stop  him  for  a  moment  from 
using  his  courage  and  his  brains  to  help  his  regiment  win. 

Jumping  out  of  the  trench  he  ran  at  full  speed  to  a  railroad  cut  on 
the  right  of  the  first  German  line,  where  he  was  partly  under  cover 
from  the  enemy's  fire.  With  five  shots  in  succession  he  killed  or 
disabled  five  men  before  his  comrades  reached  the  trench.    Not  sat- 


32 

isfied  with  this  achievement  he  ran  ahead  until  he  came  up  from  the 
railroad  cut  beside  the  second  German  line.  Here  was  a  machine 
gun.  The  officer  in  command  had  just  pointed  the  gun  at  the  Irish 
Guards  in  the  first  trench  and  had  his  finger  on  the  firing  button 
when  he  was  dropped  by  a  well-aimed  bullet  from  O'Leary's  rifle. 
He  shot  two  other  Germans  who  were  attempting  to  fire  the  machine 
gun,  Avhereupon  the  remainder  of  the  squad  threw  up  their  hands  and 
surrendered. 

Thus  it  happened  that  when  his  company  of  the  Irish  Guards 
reached  the  second  line  without  the  loss  of  a  single  man  they  were 
amazed  to  find  O'Leary  ahead  of  them  in  complete  possession.  He 
was  made  a  sergeant  on  the  field,  and  later  given  a  Victoria  cross. 
After  other  exhibitions  o<f  bravery  and  initiative,  the  25-year-old 
soldier  became  Lieut.  O'Leary. 

There  is  always  an  element  of  luck  in  such  unusual  achievements, 
but  all  the  luck  in  the  world  is  useless  unless  the  soldier  has  devel- 
oped his  intelligence,  spirit,  and  self-reliance  during  his  months  of 
training. 

THE  CAVALRY. 

The  Cavalry  is  armed  with  saber  and  pistol,  as  well  as  rifle.  Since 
the  early  months  of  the  present  war  there  has  been-  little  opportunity 
to  use  Cavalry  on  the  western  front.  For  the  most  part  the  Cavalry 
forces  of  European  armies  have  been  fighting  in  the  trenches  as 
Infantry. 

Under  these  conditions  it  has  been  determined  to  reorganize  sev- 
eral of  the  Cavalry  regiments  of  our  Regular  Army  as  Field  Artil- 
lery. United  States  Cavalry,,  as  such,  is  not  to  be  used  in  Europe 
at  present.  Some  good  judges  believe  that  the  Cavalry  will  again 
come  into  its  own  before  the  war  is  ended,  but  on  this  question  no 
final  opinion  can  now  be  given. 

The  Coast  Artillery,  which  handles  the  big-caliber  guns  guarding 
our  chief  harbors  against  naval  attacks,  is  a  branch  distinct  from 
the  Field  Artillery,  which  handles  the  smaller  guns  drawn  by  horses 
or  motors  and  moved  about  with  the  rest  of  the  army.  The  present 
field  guns  range  in  size  from  3-inch  caliber  to  4.7  inches.  The  Field 
Artillery  also  handles  howitzers,  which  throw  heavy  shells  high 
into  the  air  so  that  they  will  fall  upon  the  target  at  a  very  steep  angle. 

The  chief  kinds  of  artillery  ammunition  are  shrapnel  and  high 
explosives.  The  shrapnel  is  intended  to  burst  in  the  face  of  the 
enemy  and  scatter  a  large  number  of  bullets.  The  high  explosives 
are  used  chiefly  to  blow  up  enemy  trenches. 

INCREASING  IMPORTANCE   OF  ARTILLERY. 

The  importance  of  artillery  has  been  very  much  increased  during 
the  present  war.  It  is  the  most  effective  of  all  weapons  in  preparing 
the  way  for  attack.  In  advance  of  an  attack  on  a  large  scale  there 
are  often  several  days  of  continuous  artillery  duel,  during  which  the 
big  guns  of  both  sides  try  to  locate  and  put  out  of  action  the  opposing 
guns.  In  fact,  on  the  western  front  the  artillery  duel  never  entirely 
ceases. 

The  chief  qualities  of  a  good  artilleryman  are  intelligence  and 
tenacity.     He  must  know  his  gun  so  well  that  he  can  not  only  play 


33 

his  own  part  but,  if  necessary,  can  take  the  place  of  any  of  his  com- 
rades, lie  must  have  the  couraj^e  that  enables  him  to  hold  any 
position  assigned  to  him  until  the  order  is  given  to  move. 

Similar  to  the  artillery  in  many  respects  are  the  machine-gun 
troops.  Machine  guns  shoot  out  a  steady  stream  of  bullets  and  have 
great  value  against  an  attack  from  the  front.  They  may  also  be 
readily  carried  forward  by  attacking  troops  and  used  with  great 
effect  against  the  defenders  of  a  position. 

A  skirmish  line  can  not  advance  by  walkins  or  running  when  hostile  machine 
guns  have  the  correct  range  and  are  ready  to  fire.  Machine-gun  fire  is  not 
especially  effective  against  troojjs  lying  on  the  ground  or  crawling.  When 
opposed  l)y  machine  gun,  without  Artillery  to  destroy  them,  Infantry  itself  must 
silence  them  before  it  can  advance.  Concealment  and  patient  waiting  for 
critical  moments  and  exceptional  opportunities  are  the  special  characteristics 
of  the  machine-gun  service  in  decisive  action.  (Infantry  Drill  Regulations, 
pars.  542,  545-546.) 

In  handling  machine  guns,  just  as  in  handling  artillery,  intelli- 
gence and  tenacity  are  the  qualities  most  needed.  There  are  number- 
less examples  in  the  present  war  of  courageous  self-reliance  on  the 
part  of  individual  soldiers  in  repairing  or  serving  nuichine  guns 
while  under  fire,  and  thus  playing  a  big  part  in  helping  to  win 
victories. 


LESSON  NO.  16. 

STAFF  BRANCHES  OF  THE  SERVICE— I. 

In  addition  to  the  three  fighting  arms — Infantry,  Cavalry,  and 
Artillery — there  are  nine  branches  of  the  Army  known  as  the  staff 
corps  and  department.  In  general  their  first  and  most  important 
duty  is  not  fighting  but  assisting  those  who  do  tight,  by  providing 
them  with  everything  they  need.  Very  few  people  outside  the  Army 
have  a  clear  idea  of  the  organization  of  these  nine  branches  or  of 
their  duties. 

Following  are  the  staff  corps  and  departments:  General  Staff 
Corps;  Adjutant  General's  Department;  Inspector  General's  Depart- 
ment; Judge  Advocate  General's  Department;  Engineer  Corps;  Sig- 
nal ('orps;  Medical  Department;  Quartermaster  Corps;  Ordnance 
Department. 

The  first  four  of  the  staff  branches  just  named  are  composed  en- 
tirely of  experienced  and  capable  officers.  The  other  five  include  en- 
listed men  as  well  as  officers. 

THE   BRAINS    OF   THE   ARMY. 

The  business  of  the  General  Staff  Corps  is  to  study  military 
problems  of  all  kinds,  to  work  out  the  best  solutions,  and  to  report 
to  the  Chief  of  Staff  of  the  Army.  It  is  often  called  the  "brains 
of  the  Army,"  and  it  would  be  hard  to  give  a  better  description  in 
a  few  words.  The  War  College  division  of  the  General  Staff  Corps 
is  devoted  to  the  study  and  investigation  of  new  and  special 
problems. 

1S199"— 17 3 


34 

In  time  of  war  some  of  the  members  of  the  General  Staff  Corps 
serve  with  the  generals  in  the  field  and  assist  them  in  solving  and 
handling  their  various  problems.  While  on  this  duty,  the  senior 
General  Staff  officer  acts  as  chief  of  staff  of  the  commanding  general. 
This  position  is  not  to  be  confused  with  that  of  Chief  of  Staff  of  the 
Army,  who  has  general  supervision  of  all  military  operations,  both 
at  home  and  in  the  field. 

The  Adjutant  General's  department  has  charge  of  all  of  the 
records  relating  to  officers  and  enlisted  men,  issues  orders  to  carry 
out  the  wishes  of  the  commanding  officer,  and  carries  on  military 
correspondence.  In  every  battalion  and  regiment  one  of  the  officers 
of  the  line  is  detailed  as  adjutant  to  perform  for  his  organization 
the  duties  just  named. 

MILITARY   OBSERVERS. 

The  Inspector  General's  department  observes  everything  that  goes 
on  and  reports  on  the  skill  and  general  fitness  of  officers  and  troops. 
At  intervals  an  officer  from  the  Inspector  General's  department  re- 
views the  men  in  each  organization ;  examines  their  arms,  equipment, 
and  supplies;  looks  over  all  records  showing  expenditures  of  money 
or  distribution  of  property ;  and  sends  in  a  complete  report,  pointing 
out  the  good  and  bad  features  of  the  organization.  In  this  way  the 
higher  officers  are  kept  informed  at  all  times  as  to  the  state  of  affairs 
in  every  section  of  the  Army. 

The  Judge  Advocate  General's  department  is  the  legal  department 
of  the  Army.  It  prepares  opinions  on  legal  questions  for  the  guid- 
ance of  other  officers  or  departments,  serves  as  the  representative  of 
the  law  in  military  courts,  and  keeps  the  legal  records  of  the  Army. 
Closely  related  is  the  office  of  Provost  Marshal  General,  who  has 
charge,  among  other  things,  of  enforcing  the  selective-service  law. 

Unless  you  work  your  way  up  to  a  commission,  it  is  not  likely  that 
you  will  come  into  touch  in  any  direct  way  with  any  of  the  four  staff 
departments  just  named.  Their  duties  are  reviewed  here  simply  be- 
cause it  should  be  interesting  to  you  to  know  how  the  great  Army 
machine  is  kept  well  oiled  and  running  smoothly  even  in  periods  of 
great  difficulty. 

You  will  frequently  see  the  other  five  staff  branches  in  operation, 
however,  throughout  your  Army  life. 

THE  ENGINEER  CORPS. 

The  Corps  of  Engineers  are  the  skilled  workmen  of  the  Army. 
They  lay  out  permanent  camps  and  entrenchments;  build  aru:l  repair 
military  roads,  railroads,  and  bridges,  dig  saps  and  mines  under  the 
enemy's  trenches ;  and  take  care  of  other  work  which  requires  tech- 
nical skill  of  this  character. 

Theoretically  the  Engineer  Corps  is  not  one  of  the  fighting  arms ; 
but  in  practice  they  are  often  called  upon  to  fight  and  to  perform 
dangerous  duties.  They  may  build  bridges  or  dig  entrenchments,  for 
example,  under  the  enemy's  fire.  In  modern  warfare  the  engineers 
play  a  highly  important — and  often  a  heroic — part. 


35 


THE  SIGNAL  CORPS. 


The  Signal  Corps  is  the  message-bearer  of  the  Army.  It  carries 
information  and  orders  from  one  headfjiiarters  to  another.  It  is  to- 
day as  essential  to  tlie  conduct  of  a  great  army  as  the  telephone  is  to 
the  conduct  of  a  great  business. 

At  one  time  the  Signal  Corps  transmitted  messages  chiefly  through 
the  use  of  flags,  lanterns,  heliographs  (mirrors  so  arranged  as  to  re- 
flect and  flash  rays  of  light),  and  the  like.  Then  came  a  period  dur- 
ing which  it  was  chiefly  concerned  with  laying  down  and  operating 
telegraph  and  telephone  lines;  and  this  is  still  oue  of  its  most  im- 
portant duties.  However,  the  wireless  is  becoming  more  and  more 
important,  even  on  the  battlefield. 

A  first-class  signalman  is  expert  with  all  these  various  methods. 
He  is  also  a  goocl  horseman,  since  he  must  be  able  to  move  about 
rapidly.  His  duties  may  frequently  carry  him  into  the  battle  line 
and  into  other  dangerous  positions,  and  he  must  know  how  to  defend 
himself;  his  chief  weapon  is  the  pistol.  There  is  no  branch  of  the 
service  in  which  a  man's  intelligence,  initiative,  and  technical  skill 
count  for  more. 

The  Signal  Corps  of  the  American  Army  includes  the  aviation  sec- 
tion, which  has  grown  to  be  of  such  vital  importance.  The  best- 
known  types  of  airplanes  are  the  scouting  machine,  which  goes  out  to 
get  information  by  flying  over  the  enemy's  lines;  the  bombing  ma- 
chine, which  goes  out  to  do  as  much  damage  as  possible  to  the  enemy's 
military  works;  and  the  swift  fighting  machine,  which  attacks  enemy 
airplanes  and  protects  the  slower  scouting  and  bombing  machines. 
The  work  is  dangerous,  but  partly  for  this  reason  is  especially  attrac- 
tive to  men  of  high  intelligence  and  daring. 


LESSON  NO.  17. 
STAFF  BRANCHES  OF  THE  SERVICE— II. 

The  staff  branches  reviewed  in  the  preceding  lesson  are  the  General 
Staff  Corps,  Adjutant  General's  Department,  Inspector  General's  De- 
partment, Judge  Advocate  General's  Department,  Engineer  Corps, 
and  Signal  Corps.  The  other  three  staff  branches  which  all  directly 
touch  every  soldier  are  the  Medical  Department,  Quaptermaster 
Corps,  and  Ordnance  Department, 

The  Medical  Department  works  along  two  distinct  lines:  First,  it 
tries  to  keep  everyone  in  the  Army  in  good  health,  and  for  this  pur- 
pose keeps  close  watch  of  the  cleanliness  of  camps  and  buildings,  of 
the  quality  and  cooking  of  food,  and  the  like;  second,  it  provides 
ambulances,  hospitals,  and  medical  service  for  the  proper  care  of  sick 
or  wounded  men.  The  Medical  Department  includes  the  Dental 
Corps,  the  Hospital  Corps,  and  the  Nurse  Corps.  Its  officers  are  ex- 
perienced physicians  who  have  passed  rigid  examinations.  Its  en- 
listed men  are  chiefly  engaged  in  the  difficult  and  often  dangerous 
Avork  of  rescuing  the  wounded  and  transporting  them  to  field  and 
base  hospitals. 

Just  as  every  man  in  the  Army  carries  intrenching  tools  so  that  he 
may  protect  himself  without  the  help  of  the  Engineer  Corps  when 


36 

necessary,  so  he  also  carries  a  "  fii-st-aid  packet,"  so  that  he  may  in  an 
emergency  perform  some  of  the  duties  of  the  Medical  Department. 
Every  soldier  learns  how  to  give  dressing  and  treatment  to  his  own 
wounds  when  he  is  able  to  do  so,  and  how  to  assist  wounded  comrades 
until  men  from  the  Medical  Department  arrive. 

MEDICAL  DEPARTMENT  EFFICIENCY. 

The  Medical  Department  of  the  American  Army  is  regarded  as  one 
of  the  best  in  the  world.  A  soldier  may  feel  assured  he  will  receive 
every  possible  attention  in  case  of  need.  The  percentage  of  recoveries 
from  wounds  in  the  hospitals  manned  by  Americans  during  the  Euro- 
pean War  has  been  exceptionally  high. 

The  Quartermaster  Corps  is  the  business  manager  of  the  Army.  It 
furnishes  food,  clothing,  and  most  kinds  of  equipment;  provides 
horses  and  mules;  arranges  for  transf)ortation ;  takes  charge  of 
money ;  buys  supplies ;  pays  troops ;  and  keeps  on  hand  stores  of  sup- 
plies. 

The  importance  of  all  this  work  can  hardly  be  overstated.  Napo- 
leon said  "An  army  travels  on  its  belly,"  meaning  that  soldiers  must 
be  well  fed  and  well  supplied  if  they  are  to  fight  effectively.  This  is 
even  more  necessary  to-day  than  it  was  in  Napoleon's  time.  In  mod- 
ern warfare  the  scale  of  fighting  and  the  quantities  of  supplies  are 
so  tremendous  that  the  duties  of  the  Quartermaster  Corps  are  multi- 
plied beyond  any  previous  experience. 

The  officers  of  the  Quartermaster  Corps  must  be  able  business  men. 
Many  of  them  have  held  important  business  positions.  The  enlisted 
men  of  the  corps  are  skilled  in  such  occupations  as  blacksmithing, 
painting,  driving  teams  and  trucks,  baking  bread,  and  the  like. 

WORK  OF  ORDNANCE  DEPARTMENT. 

Of  the  same  general  character  is  the  work  of  the  Ordnance  Depart- 
ment, which  furnishes  the  guns,  ammunition,  and  other  supplies 
needed  for  fighting.  Several  times  during  the  present  war  whole 
armies  have  been  forced  to  retreat  or  have  suffered  severely  because 
of  the  lack  of  munitions.  The  quantity  of  ammunition  used  daily  is 
enormous.  During  the  French  offensive  of  June,  1917,  12,600,000 
shots  were  fired  from  artillery  guns. 

In  the  .actual  theater  of  war  the  ammunition  service  is  under  the 
control  of  the  Field  Artillery.  Bringing  up  supplies  of  ammunition 
to  troops  and  to  batteries  in  action  is  one  of  the  most  essential  of  all 
duties  on  the  battle  field.  The  wagons  or  trucks  carrying  ammunition 
must  be  driven  when  necessary  within  easy  reach  of  the  firing  line. 
Sometimes  there  is  an  opportunity  here  for  the  display  of  resource- 
fulness and  courage  far  above  the  ordinary  requirements  of  the 
service. 

At  the  second  battle  of  Ypres  in  April,  1915,  the  Third  Battery  in 
the  Third  Brigade  of  the  Canadian  Field  Artillery  galloped  into 
position  within  a  few  hundred  yards  of  the  German  front,  where 
they  did  gallant  work  fighting  against  overwhelming  odds  to  hold 
back  the  enemy's  onslaught.     After  a  time  it  became  necessary  to 


37 

brin^  up  high  explosive  shells.     One  of  tlie  Canadian  gunners  tells 
how  they  were  brought : 

"The  aniinuuition  wagon  containing  them  came  galloping  across 
the  open  field  under  a  heavy  fire,  the  men  lashing  their  horses  and 
yelling  like  mad.  The  horses  were  simply  crazed.  Some  of  them 
had  been  hit  Avith  bullets,  and  when  they  neared  our  guns  the  men 
could  not  stop  them.  It  looked  as  though  they  would  go  right  on  to 
the  German  lines.  There  was  only  one  thing  to  do:  The  rider  of  the 
leading  horses  drew  his  revolver  and  shot  them  dead.  They  went 
down,  with  the  other  horses  and  men  and  the  wagon  rolling  over  and 
over  them.  With  the  high  explosive  shells  we  tore  the  trees  to  bits 
and  left  the  whole  place  open ;  then  our  Infantry,  quickly  following 
up  the  advantage,  drove  the  Teutons  back." 

THE  FIGHTING  TEAM. 

When  the  three  fighting  arms  and  the  nine  staff  corps  are  all 
brought  together  under  one  control  they  form  what  we  may  call  "  the 
fighting  team."  This  is  the  team  in  which  you  and  every  other  soldier 
must  be  ready  to  play  your  part. 

The  smallest  unit  in  which  all  these  branches  of  the  service  is  rep- 
resented is  known  as  a  division.  Under  present  regulations  an  In- 
fantry division  is  made  up  of  three  Infantry  brigades;  one  brigade 
of  Field  Artillery;  one  regiment  of  Cavalry;  one  regiment  of  Engi- 
neers; one  battalion  of  Signal  Corps;  one  squadron  of  airplanes; 
together  with  field  trains  and  combat  trains  carrying  rations,  bag- 
gage, ammunition,  and  all  kinds  of  supplies.  A  division,  therefore, 
is  in  itself  a  complete  small  army.  When  at  full  strength  it  includes 
28,334  officers  and  men.  A  field  army  is  made  up  of  a  number  of 
such  divisions. 

LESSON  NO.  18. 

ARMY  INSIGNIA. 

The  uniform  of  the  United  States  Army  stands  for  democracy. 
It  is  almost  the  same  for  all  ranks  from  private  to  commanding  gen- 
eral— so  much  so,  in  fact,  that  it  is  often  difficult  to  recognize  a  man's 
place  in  the  service  at  first  glance.  But  a  closer  view  will  tell  the 
whole  story  to  any  experienced  observer. 

"  Insignia "  is  the  term  used  to  include  all  the  badges,  buttons, 
braids,  hat  cords,  and  other  devices  which  indicate  these  three 
things: 

1.  The  rank  of  each  officer  or  soldier. 

2.  His  branch  of  the  service  or  his  special  duties. 

3.  His  personal  experience  or  record. 

An  ordinary  private's  uniform  carries  no  insignia  of  rank.  When 
a  man  becomes  a  first-class  private,  however,  in  the  Engineer  Corps, 
Hospital  Corps,  Ordnance  Department,  Quartermaster^  Corps,  or 
Signal  Corps,  he  is  entitled  to  wear  on  the  sleeves  of  his  coat  and 
shirt  the  design  of  the  department  to  which  he  belongs. 

A  lance  corporal  wears  on  his  sleeve  an  inverted  V-shaped  bar. 
A  corporal  has  two  bars  and  a  sergeant  three  bars.     Below  the 


38 

sergeant's  three  V-shaped  (inverted)  bars  may  appear  a  number  oi' 
additional  marks,  indicating  his  duties.  For  example,  a  first  ser- 
geant has  a  diamond-shaped  mark;  the  stable  sergeant  has  a  device 
representing  a  horse's  head;  the  color  sergeant  has  a  star;  the  bat- 
talion quartermaster  sergeant  has  three  horizontal  bars;  the  chief 
trumpeter  has  one  bar  and  a  device  representing  a  bugle;  and  so  on. 
All  the  cloth  designs,  such  as  those  just  described,  which  are  sewn 
on  the  sleeves,  are  known  as  "  chevrons." 

INSIGNIA  OF  RANK. 

Above  the  noncommissioned  officers,  rank  is  shown  by  various  in- 
signia on  the  shoulder  loops  of  coats,  on  the  sleeves  of  coats  and  over- 
coats, on  the  collars  of  shirts,  and  by  hat  cords.  The  most  important 
are  those  made  of  metal  and  sewn  on  shoulder  loops  and  shirt  collars. 
A  major  general  has  two  silver  stars;  a  brigadier  general,  one  silver 
star;  a  colonel,  a  silver  eagle;  a  lieutenant  colonel,  a  silver  oak  leaf; 
a  major,  a  gold  oak  leaf;  a  captain,  two  silver  bars;  and  a  first  lieu- 
tenant, one  silver  bar.  A  second  lieutenant  has  no  shoulder  insignia. 
You  can  readily  tell  the  rank  of  any  officer  by  glancing  at  these  metal 
insignia. 

It  is  often  quite  necessary,  however,  to  recognize  that  some  one  at  a 
little  distance  is  a  commissioned  officer  in  order  that  you  may  treat 
him  with  the  courtesy  due  to  all  officers ;  in  this  case  you  look  for  the 
marks  indicating  that  a  man  holds  a  commission  without  waiting  to 
observe  his  exact  rank.  Until  recently  commissioned  officers  custom- 
arily wore  leather  leggings,  while  all  enlisted  men  wore  canvas  leg- 
gings. However,  leather  leggings  may  now  be  worn  by  mounted  men. 
The  hat  cord  is  another  mark  of  rank  which  is  easily  observed;  the 
hat  cords  of  generals  are  gold ;  those  of  other  officers  are  of  gold  and 
black.  Another  mark  of  an  officer  is  a  band  of  brown  braid  about  3 
inches  from  the  end  of  the  coat  sleeve.  Officers  of  the  General  Staff 
Corps  wear  black  braid  instead  of  brown.  On  overcoats  the  braid  is 
sewn  on  in  loops,  except  that  of  general  officers,  who  wear  two  black 
bands  of  braid. 

Every  branch  of  the  service  has  its  special  color,  which  appears  on 
the  hat  cords  of  enlisted  men,  on  the  chevrons  of  noncommissioned 
officers,  and  in  many  other  places.     These  colors  are: 

Infantry,  light  blue. 

Cavalry,  yellow. 

Artillery,  scarlet. 

Adjutant  general's,  inspector  general's,  and  judge  advocate 
general's  departments,  dark  blue. 

Engineer  Corps,  scarlet  intertwined  with  v^^hite. 

Signal  Corps,  orange  intertwined  with  white. 

Medical  Department,  maroon. 

Quartermaster  Corps,  buff. 

Ordnance  Department,  black  intertwined  with  scarlet. 
By  remembering  these  colors  you  will  often  be  able  easily  to  recog- 
nize men  and  troops.     In  addition  to  these  colors,  every  branch  of 
the  service  has  its  own  device,  with  all  of  which  you  will  soon  become 
familiar. 


39 


REGIMENTAL   INSIGNIA, 


The  number  of  the  regiment  to  which  each  man  belongs  is  on  the 
colhir  of  his  coat.  All  regimental  ninubers  will  run  in  tliree  difi'erent 
series,  showing  whether  each  regiment  was  originally  a  part  of  the 
Ivegular  Army,  of  the  National  Guard,  or  of  the  new  National  Army. 
The  numbers  of  regiments  formerly  of  the  Regular  Army  will  begin 
with  th(.!  figure  1  and  run  up  to  the  figure  100;  those  of  regiments 
formerly  in  the  National  Guard  will  begin  with  figure  101  and  run 
u])  to  300;  those  of  regiments  in  the  new  National  Army  will  begin 
with  figure  301.  The  former  National  Guard  regiments  will  show 
also  their  former  State  designations,  as,  for  example,  (1st  Me.), 
(2d  Pa.),  etc.  The  device  of  regiments  of  the  new  National  Army 
in  the  same  way  will  show  the  State  from  which  each  organization, 
or  the  bulk  of  it,  was  drawn,  as,  for  example,  (W.  Va.),  (Minn.), 
etc.  Thus  you  will  easily  be  able  to  recognize  not  only  the  man's 
regiment  but  also  the  section  of  the  country  from  which  he  comes 
and  how  he  got  into  the  service. 

Your  insignia  should  have — and  will  have — a  big  and  deep  mean- 
ing for  you.  You  will  come  to  respect  them  and  to  wish  to  honor 
them.  You  will  find  that  they  are  more  to  you  than  pieces  of  cord 
and  cloth  and  metal.  Behind  you  are  the  heroic  deeds  of  thousands 
of  men  who  performed  duties  similar  to  those  you  now  perform. 
Your  insignia  stands  for  the  bravery,  the  skill,  and  the  self-sacrifice 
which  your  rank  and  your  branch  of  the  service  demand. 


LESSON  NO.  19. 
THE  ARMY  SYSTEM  OF  TRAINING. 

The  average  American  who  has  a  job  assigned  to  him  wants  to  do 
it  well.  He  doesn't  care  to  dawdle  over  the  job  and  make  a  mess  of 
it.  Nor  does  he  care  to  make  it  a  halfway  success.  He  is  deter- 
mined to  make  it  a  full  and  complete  success  in  the  shortest  possible 
time. 

It  is  assumed  that  you  are  starting  your  Army  training  in  this 
American  spirit.  Since  you  are  undertaking  the  job  of  becoming  a 
citizen  soldier,  you  intend  to  be  a  good  one.  You  don't  Avant  to  waste 
any  time  in  the  process. 

More  than  that,  if  you  are  ambitious  and  j)osscss  fair  ability,  there 
is  no  reason  why  you  should  always  remain  a  private  soldier.  It  is 
right  that  you  should  want  to  advance,  just  as  you  want  to  advance 
in  civil  life.  The  Army  is  anxious  to  have  you  advance  just  as  soon 
as  you  are  ready. 

You  will  not,  of  course,  become  a  corporal  or  sergeant  or  win 
higher  promotion  until  after  you  have  thoroughly  mastered  the  duties 
of  a  private.  Nor  will  all  the  men  Avho  would  like  to  win  advance- 
ment easily  obtain  it.  There  is  only  one  way  to  get  ahead  in  the 
Army,  and  that  is  to  follow  conscientiously  to  the  end  the  regular 
system  of  training  laid  out  for  everybody. 

Your  training  will  be  practically  the  same  as  that  through  which 
your  officers  have  advanced  in  the  early  stages  of  military  training. 
Every  man  in  the  Army  must  go  through  it. 


40 

DRILL  FORMATIONS. 

First,  you  will  be  instructed  in  the  Infantry  drill,  as  set  forth  in 
the  Infantry  Drill  Regulations.  This  is  the  foundation  of  all  your 
training.  It  is  divided  into  close-order  drill  and  extended-order 
drill. 

"  Close  order  "  is  defined  in  the  Regulations  as  "  the  formation  in 
which  the  units,  in  double  rank,  are  arranged  in  line  or  in  column 
with  normal  intervals  and  distances."  Extended  order,  on  the  other 
hand,  is  "  the  formation  in  which  the  units  are  separated  by  inter- 
vals greater  than  in  close  order."  These  technical  definitions  are 
clear  enough  to  those  who  are  already  familiar  with  military  terms, 
but  probably  require  some  explanation  for  most  of  the  men  who  are 
reading  this  course. 

The  diagrams  below  show  at  a  glance  what  is  meant.  Figure  1 
represents  a  small  body  of  men  in  double  rank  arranged  in  close 
order. 

;~      :':      ;k      ^ 

^     'I'      •?*      'I* 

Figure  1. 

The  space  between  men  standing  side  by  side  in  rank  is  called  the 
"  interval."  In  the  American  Army  the  standard  interval  is  4  inches, 
measured  from  the  elbow  of  one  man  to  the  elbow  of  the  man  next 
to  him.  This  gives  room  enough  for  free  movement  and  the  proper 
handling  of  arms  and  equipment  during  drill.  The  space  between  a 
man  in  the  front  rank,  and  a  man  directly  behind  him  in  the  rear 
rank  is  called  "  distance."  The  standard  distance  is  40  inches,  meas- 
ured from  the  back  of  the  man  in  front  to  the  breast  of  the  man  in  the 
rear.  In  practice  intervals  and  distances  are,  of  course,  not  measured 
exactly.  A  well-trained  soldier,  however,  soon  learns  to  gauge  them 
with  sufficient  accuracy  and  almost  unconsciously  keeps  himself 
properly  placed  in  relation  to  the  men  about  him.  It  is  essential 
that  every  man  should  learn  to  do  this  in  order  to  maintain  a 
reasonable  degree  of  uniformity. 

FIGHTING   FORMATIONS. 

Figure  2  represents  a  body  of  men  in  double  rank  arranged  in 
column.  The  same  intervals  and  distances  are  observed  as  in  the  line 
formation. 

*  *  *  * 

*  ^::     *     * 

*  *    ::=    * 

*  ::=    =::    * 

Figure  2. 

An  extended-order  formation  is  represented  below. 

*         *         *         m 

Figure  8. 

However,  this  is  only  one  of  an  infinite  number  of  extended-order 
formations.     Intervals  and  distances  nuiy  be  irregular.     This  is  the 


41 

formation  used  for  skirmishing  and  at  other  times  when  it  may  be 
desirable  to  have  each  man  control  his  own  movements  without 
attempting  to  conform  exactly  to  the  movements  of  the  olher  men. 

During  drill  in  close  order  yon  will  retain  "the  position  of  the 
soldier."  In  extended-order  drill  you  will  usually,  though  not  neces- 
sarily, be  allowed  to  take  the  positions  that  are  most  comfortable. 

You  should  get  in  mind  at  the  very  beginning  these  distinctions 
between  close  order  and  extended  order.  By  understanding  them  you 
will  see  more  clearly  what  is  required  of  you  and  how  you  can  get 
most  benefit  out  of  your  training. 


LESSON  NO  20. 

CLOSE-ORDER  DRILL. 

Close-order  formations  are  seldom  used  in  actual  fighting;  never- 
theless they  should  be  thoroughly  mastered.  They  have  been  worked 
out  durmg  centuries  of  experience  as  the  best  means  of  training  men 
in  soldierly  habits  of  thought  and  action.  They  teach  precision, 
teamwork,  and  that  prompt  and  unhesitating  obedience  which  is  so 
necessary  to  military  control.  The  fact  that  you  and  your  comrades 
are  thoroughly  drilled  will  be  your  best  protection  in  the  hour  of  bat- 
tle. It  will  give  every  man  confidence  in  himself  and  in  his  comrades 
and  will  insure  steadfastness  in  the  face  of  the  enemy. 

However,  close-order  drill  will  not  yield  these  results — it  will  be 
worse  than  useless — unless  it  is  learned  thoroughly  and  practiced 
with  snap  and  precision.  You  must  drill,  drill,  drill.  It  is  one  of  the 
most  essential  steps  in  your  training.  Enter  these  drills  with  en- 
thusiasm.   Try  to  make  a  distinct  improvement  every  day. 

GRADES    OF    CLOSE-ORDER    DRILL. 

There  are  four  sections  or  grades  of  close-order  drill,  which  are 
called  school  of  the  soldier,  school  of  the  squad,  school  of  the  com- 
pany, school  of  the  battalion.  The  word  "  school "  as  here  used, 
means  a  fixed  method  of  training. 

First  of  all,  you  will  get  the  training  included  under  the  "  school 
of  the  soldier."  This  training  is  in  turn  divided  into  two  parts :  In- 
struction without  arms  and  the  Manual  of  Arms. 

The  very  first  thing  you  will  learn  is  the  position  of  the  soldier, 
which  has  already  been  explained  in  lesson  4,  then  you  will  be  shown, 
among  other  things,  how  to  face  to  the  right  or  left  or  about  in  a 
soldierly  manner,  how  to  salute  properly  and  how  to  march. 

The  Manual  of  Arms  takes  you  a  step  further.  It  teaches  you 
how  to  handle  your  rifle  properly.  It  does  not,  however,  include 
practice  in  firing  or  in  ba^yonet  combat. 

In  the  school  of  the  squad  you  will  execute  all  the  movements 
learned  in  the  school  of  the  soldier;  in  addition  you  will  learn  to  keep 
your  correct  place  in  ranks,  to  stack  and  take  arms,  and  to  march  as 
a  squad.  The  school  of  the  squad  includes  also  some  practice  in  ex- 
tended-order drill. 

The  school  of  the  company  carries  you  still  further  in  your  train- 
ing.    In  the  close-order  drill  you  will  be  taught  to  march  in  line 


42 

and  in  column  and  to  execute  a  number  of  simple  but  very  important 
movements.  Most  of  these  movements  are  by  squads;  that  is  to  say, 
they  simply  apply  to  a  number  of  squads  working  together,  the  same 
commands  and  movements  already  learned  in  the  school  of  the  squad. 

SCHOOL  OF  THE   BATTALION. 

The  school  of  the  battalion  in  turn  applies  on  a  somewhat  larger 
scale  the  movements  you  have  learned  in  the  school  of  the  company. 
The  commands  of  the  major  will  be  repeated  to  you  by  your  own 
captain,  or  through  him  by  your  platoon  commander. 

The  battalion  is  the  largest  unit  in  which  an  officer  can  make  hi.s 
commands  heard  and  clearly  understood  by  all  the  men ;  hence,  it  i  : 
the  largest  unit  in  which  there  is  instruction  in  close-order  drill. 
Regiments,  brigades,  and  larger  units  are  controlled  through  orders 
given  to  commanding  officers  which  they  carry  out  by  issuing  other 
commands  or  orders  to  the  officers  or  men  immediately  under  their 
control. 

A  very  important  thing  for  you  to  remember  is  that  this  progres- 
sive training  in  the  close-order  drill  is  all  based  upon  some  very 
simple  movements  which  you  will  learn  in  the  school  of  the  soldier 
and  the  school  of  the  squad.  If  you  get  these  basic  movements  right 
so  that  you  can  perform  them  exactly  and  promptly — and  you  ought 
to  be  able  to  learn  this  in  a  very  short  time — you  need  have  no  fear 
of  the  complicated  movements  of  the  school  of  the  company  and  the 
school  of  the  battalion.  In  reality,  these  movements  merely  look 
more  complicated,  because  they  are  carried  out  by  larger  bodies  of 
men. 

It  can  not  be  too  strongly  impressed  on  you  that  the  closest  atten- 
tion to  your  training  during  the  first  few  days  will  make  your  whole 
period  of  service  much  easier  and  more  satisfactory.  Don't  lose  your 
grasp  on  this  thought.  It  is  of  the  first  importance.  Put  it  into 
practice  and  it  will  help  you  to  get  ahead. 


LESSON  NO.  21. 

EXTENDED-ORDER  DRILL. 

Extended-order  drill  will  give  your  squad  its  first  lesson  in  the 
methods  of  advancing  against  enemy  lines  actually  used  in  present- 
clay  warfare.  You  will  first  be  shoAvn  how  to  deploy  as  skirmishers. 
Moving  at  a  run  you  and  the  other  men  will  place  yourself  in  one 
rank,  the  interval  between  men  being  about  15  inches,  instead  of  4 
inches  as  in  close-order  drill.  This  is  the  simplest  form  of  deploy- 
ment, which  may  be  roughly  defined  as  spreading  out  a  body  of 
troops  in  thin  open  lines  so  that  they  may  more  easily  advance  even 
in  the  face  of  enemy  fire. 

This  means  that  you  become  to  a  greater  extent  an  independent 
unit.  When  pushing  forward  in  skirmish  lines  you  must  rely  in 
part  on  your  own  initiative  and  judgment. 

The  next  step  in  extended-order  drill  is  to  practice  kneeling,  lying 
down,  and  advancing  at  a  run.    In  the  meantime,  you  will  be  getting 


43 

practice  also  in  rifle  loading,  and  a  little  later  will  begin  to  carry 
your  rifle  when  advancing  as  a  skii-inisher  and  to  practice  loading, 
aiming,  and  liring  from  tlie  skirmish  line. 

USE  OF  COVER. 

One  of  the  most  important  features  of  this  part  of  your  training 
will  consist  of  learning  to  conceal  yourself  from  the  view  of  tlie 
enemy  by  taking  advantage  of  hillocks,  trees,  heaps  of  earth,  rocks, 
gullies,  ditches,  doorways,  windows,  or  any  other  cover  that  may  be 
at  hand.  Your  object  is  to  reach  the  enemy.  The  more  skillful  you 
are  in  the  use  of  cover  the  smaller  the  chances  of  your  being  disabled 
during  the  attack. 

But  you  are  not  to  remain  too  long  in  one  place,  no  matter  how  well 
you  may  be  concealed.  Your  value  as  a  soldier  depends  on  your 
ability  to  advance  from  cover  to  cover,  always  selecting  before  you 
leave  one  place  the  position  you  are  going  to  occupy.  Learn  that  '"  a 
man  running  rapitlly  toward  an  enemy  furnishes  a  poor  target." 
Remember  also  that  a  man  lying  flat  on  the  ground  is  not  easily 
observed  from  the  enemy's  lines. 

This  principle  applies  also  if  you  are  ever  fired  upon  while  scout- 
ing or  acting  independently ;  drop  to  the  ground  and  seek  cover,  and 
then  try  to  locate  the  enemy. 

These  are  some  of  the  main  points  to  keej)  in  mind;  many  others 
will  come  up  during  your  training.  Gradually  you  will  become 
highly  skilled  in  this  form  of  attack.  Not  only  will  your  skill  in- 
crease but  also  your  confidence.  You  will  learn  in  time  that  troops 
standing  on  the  defensive  behind  entrenchments  seldom  fire  upon 
an  advancing  enemy  with  steadiness  and  accuracy.  The  greater 
determination  and  energy  you  and  your  comrades  show  in  the  ad- 
vance, the  smaller  will  be  the  chances  of  your  suffering  severely  from 
the  enemy's  fire. 

The  advance  of  a  company  in  extended  order  is  directed  by  com- 
mands transmitted  to  the  individual  soldiers  chiefly  by  the  use  of 
signals,  since  the  noise  of  the  firing  makes  it  impracticable  to  use 
the  voice  effectively. 

PRACTICE  FIGHTING. 

The  problem  of  each  individual  soldier  is  to  obey  the  commands 
and  at  the  same  time  to  use  his  own  judgment  and  skill  in  taking 
advantage  of  cover  as  he  advances.  It  is  especially  important  that 
you  should  obey  at  once  any  directions  that  may  be  given  to  you  as 
to  resetting  the  sights  on  your  rifle  and  that  the  rapidity  of  your 
firing  should  be  controlled  by  the  orders  of  your  captain. 

Going  a  step  loeyond  the  extended  order  drill  your  company  and 
regiment  will  take  part  in  field  and  combat  exercises,  in  which  con- 
ditions and  movements  of  actual  warfare  are  reproduced  as  closely  as 
possible.  Here  you  will  put  into  practice  everything  learned  during 
your  previous  drilling.  You  will  practice  correct  methods  of  attack- 
ing and  of  defending  yourself  both  with  the  rifle  and  bayonet  and 
with  other  weapons  now  in  use.  Don't  fail  to  enter  into  the  spirit  of 
these  exercises  with  as  much  enthusiasm  and  intensity  as  if  you  w^ere 
on  the  actual  battle  field.    Use  your  imagination.     See  the  enemy 


in  front  of  you  and  act  precisely  as  you  would  act  if  the  enemy  were 
real.  Only  in  this  way  can  you  get  the  full  benefit  of  these  exercises. 
Don't  fail  to  keep  in  mind  also  that  you  are"  a  member  of  a  big 
team  and  that  every  member  plays  an  important  part  in  contributing 
to  the  success  of  the  team. 

The  one  requisite  necessary  to  win  the  battle  is  intelligent  teamwork.  The 
Array  is  handled  just  like  a  football  team.  A  part  is  on  the  first  line  facing 
the  enemy.  Another  part,  like  the  half  backs,  is  held  back  as  supports.  An- 
other part,  like  the  full  backs,  is  held  as  a  reserve.  Each  unit,  like  each  player, 
has  a  certain  duty  to  perform.  When-  the  signal  is  given,  all  work  together — 
all  play  the  game — teamwork.  (Manual  for  Noncommissioned  Officers  and 
Privates,  p.  149.) 


LESSON  NO.  22. 

GUARD  DUTY. 

In  addition  to  drilling  and  fighting  as  a  member  of  a  squad,  com- 
pany, regiment,  or  other  "  team  "  of  th«  Army,  you  will  have  certain 
important  duties  as  an  individual  soldier.  These  duties  call  for  a 
higher  grade  of  intelligence  and  self-reliance  and  throw  on  you 
greater  personal  responsibility. 

This  is  not  something  to  be  dreaded  or  avoided.  As  you  develop 
the  soldierly  qualities  you  will  jmnp  at  every  chance  to  take  responsi- 
bility and  to  distinguish  yourself  by  the  courage  and  good  judgment 
with  which  you  act. 

Probably  your  simplest  individual  duty  will  be  that  of  an  interior 
guard.  "  Interior  guards  are  used  in  camp  or  police  regulations." 
(Manual  of  Interior  Guard  Duty,  par.  3.) 

In  the  training  camp  your  company  will  be  required  at  times  to 
perform  guard  duty.  This  means  tliat  one  or  more  of  your  com- 
missioned or  noncommissioned  officers  and  a  number  of  privates  will 
be  detailed  for  this  duty.  Customarily  a  detail  of  this  kind  continues 
for  24  hours,  from  noon  of  one  day  to  noon  o.f  the  next ;  each  private 
takes  his  turn  at  standing  guard. 

PERSONAL  RESPONSIBILITY. 

Guard  duty  is  especially  recommended  as  "  of  value  in  discipline 
and  training,  because  of  the  direct  individual  responsibility  which  is 
imposed  and  required  to  be  discharged  in  a  clefinitc  and  precise 
manner."  (Manual  of  Interior  Guard  Duty,  par.  8.)  Your  duties 
as  a  sentinel  are  best  expressed  in  the  general  orders  which  every 
sentinel  is  required  to  repeat  whenever  called  upon  to  do  so.  Memo- 
rize these  general  orders  now  and  never  permit  yourself  to  forget 
them.  Think  them  over  and  you  will  see  that  they  are  clear  and 
exact.    They  are  meant  to  be  strictly  obeyed. 

My  general  orders  are: 

1.  To  take  charge  of  this  post  and  all  Government  property  in 
view. 

2.  To  walk  my  post  in  a  military  manner,  keeping  always  on  the 
alert  and  observing  everything  that  takes  place  within  sight  or 
hearing. 

3.  To  report  all  violations  of  orders  I  am  instructed  to  enforce. 


45 

4.  To  report  all  calls  from  posts  more  distant  from  the  guardhouse 
than  my  own. 

5.  To  (juit  my  post  only  when  properly  relieved. 

6.  To  receive,  obey,  and  pass  on  to  the  sentinel  who  relieves  me  all 
orders  from  the  commanding  oflicer,  officer  of  the  day,  and  officers 
and  noncommissioned  officers  of  the  guard  only. 

7.  To  talk  to  no  one  except  in  line  of  duty. 

8.  In  case  of  fire  or  disorder  to  give  the  alarm. 

9.  To  allow  no  one  to  commit  a  nuisance  on  or  near  my  post. 

10.  In  any  case  not  covered  by  instructions  to  call  the  corporal  of 
the  guard. 

11.  To  salute  all  officers  and  all  colors  and  standards  not  cased. 

12.  To  be  especially  watchful  at  night,  and,  during  the  time  for 
challenging,  to  challenge  all  persons  on  or  near  my  post,  and  to  allow 
no  one  to  pass  without  proper  authority. 

Even  though  a  sentinel  be  only  a  private  soldier,  he  is  in  a  position 
of  real  dignity  and  authority.  He  represents  the  commanding  officer. 
He  must  be  respected  and  the  orders  he  gives  as  a  sentinel  must  be 
strictly  obeyed,  not  only  by  other  soldiers  but  by  officers,  whatever 
their  rank. 

During  the  night  the  sentinel  will  challenge  any  person  or  party 
"who  comes  near  his  post,  calling  out  sharply  "  Halt.  Who  is  there?  " 
The  person  challenged,  or  one  of  the  party,  if  there  are  several  per- 
sons, may  be  permitted  to  approach  for  the  purpose  of  giving  the 
countersign  or  of  being  recognized.  In  case  of  doubt  it  is  a  sentinel's 
duty  to  prevent  anyone  from  passing  him  and  to  call  the  corporal  of 
the  guard.  "A  sentinel  will  never  allow  himself  to  be  surprised,  nor 
permit  two  parties  to  advance  on  him  at  the  same  time." 

DUTIES  OF  ORDERLIES. 

Members  of  the  guard  may  be  assigned  to  duty  as  orderlies  to  the 
commanding  officer  or  to  other  officers.  "  For  these  positions  the 
soldiers  will  be  chosen  who  are  most  correct  in  the  performance  of 
duty  and  in  military  bearing,  neatest  in  person  and  clothing,  and 
whose  arms  and  accouterments  are  in  the  best  condition."  It  is  de- 
cidedly a  compliment  to  any  soldier  to  be  designated  to  serve  as  an 
orderly. 

An  orderly  usually  accompanies  the  officer  wherever  he  goes,  as- 
sists or  serves  him  in  accordance  wath  directions,  carries  messages  for 
him,  and  the  like. 

Exterior  guard  duty  consists  of  keeping-  watch  at  a  distance  from 
the  main  body  of  troops.  When  a  camp  is  within  possible  striking 
distance  from  the  enemy,  it  is  necessary  to  place  small  parties  of  men 
at  points  where  they  may  observe  an  approaching  enemy,  give  the 
alarm,  and,  if  possible,  check  or  stop  his  advance.  These  parties  are 
known  as  outposts. 

When  a  large  body  of  troops  is  on  the  march,  advance,  rear,  and 
flank  guards  keep  watch  on  the  surrounding  country.  In  general, 
their  duties  are  similar  to  those  of  outposts. 

SCOUTING. 

One  of  the  most  responsible  duties  to  which  a  soldier  may  be 
assigned  is  patrolling  or  scouting.    An  Infantry  patrol  usually  con- 


46 

sists  of  from  3  to  16  men.  It  is  sent  out  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining 
information  as  to  the  enemy,  his  numbers,  and  the  nature  of  the 
country  over  which  the  f)atrol  travels.  It  is  not  usually  intended  that 
the  patrol  should  fight,  since  its  prime  purpose  is  to  obtain  and 
bring  back  information.  However,  it  may  be  forced  to  fight,  if  dis- 
covered, in  order  to  protect  the  escape  of  at  least  one  of  its  members 
with  a  report  of  the  information  secured. 

Every  soldier  should  be  able  to  find  his  way  in  a  strange  country;  should 
know  how  to  use  a  compass;  should  know  how  to  locate  the  north  star;  shouhl 
be  able  to  travel  across  countiy,  keeping  a  given  direction,  both  by  day  and 
by  night,  and  by  observing  landmarks  he  should  be  able  to  return  to  the 
starting  point,  whether  over  the  same  route  or  by  a  more  circuitous  one.  This 
can  easily  be  learned  by  a  little  practice.  It  adds  a  great  deal  to  the  value  of  a 
soldier  if  he  knows  how  to  use  a  map  to  find  his  way.  If  he  knows  how  to 
make  a  rough  sivetch  of  the  country,  he  has  added  to  his  value  as  a  soldier 
very  much  indeed.     (Manual  for  Noncommissioned  Officers  and  Privates,  p.  161.) 

Of  course,  these  remarks  on  guard  duty  can  give  you  only  a  gen- 
eral idea  of  its  nature  and  of  your  own  responsibility.  But  enough 
has  been  said  to  indicate  that  any  man  has  much  to  learn  before  he 
can  be  called  a  first-class  soldier.  You  will  find  your  months  of  train- 
ing slij^ping  by  rapidly,  especially  as  you  become  more  and  more 
interested  in  mastering  the  varied  phases  of  your  new  occupation. 


LESSON  NO.  23. 

GETTING  AHEAD  IN  THE  ARMY. 

Since  regimental  and  company  officers  have  full  responsibility  for 
the  efficiency  of  their  teams,  they  are  given  corresponding  authority 
in  promoting  men  from  the  ranks  to  positions  as  noncommissioned 
officers.  For  all  practical  purposes  their  judgment  as  to  the  men 
under  them  is  regarded  as  final. 

One  point  as  to  which  you  may  feel  assured  is  the  earnest  desire 
of  every  officer  to  give  promotion  to  the  men  who  are  best  qualified — 
in  other  words,  to  select  the  men  who  have  cultivated  the  soldierly 
qualities  and  in  addition  show  capacitj?^  for  further  development  and 
for  leadership.  The  officers  are  fully  as  much  interested  in  promot- 
ing men  on  the  basis  of  merit  as  any  of  the  men  are  interested  in  se- 
curing promotion.  For  the  officers'  own  burdens  are  lightened  and 
their  success  is  increased  almost  in  direct  proportion  to  their  ability 
to  promote  the  right  men. 

CHANCES  FOR   PROMOTION. 

The  first  rank  above  private  is  corporal.  The  corporal  should  be 
a  real  leader.  He  is  expected  to  be  more  familiar  with  the  various 
manuals  and  regulations  and  with  the  duties  of  the  men  in  the  squad 
than  are  the  men  themselves.  He  is  expected  also  to  use  his  influence 
strongly  toward  building  up  soldierly  qualities  among  these  men. 

Among  the  qualifications  which  all  noncommissioned  officers  should 
possess,  the  following  have  been  selected  by  one  military  writer  as 
being  of  the  first  importance: 

1.  Proficienc}'  as  guides  in  close-order  drills,  and  particularly  as 
column  leaders  in  route  marching. 


47 

2.  Aggressive  leadership,  espeoiiilly  iii  drilling,  niarciiiiig,  and 
fighting. 

3.  Ability  to  act  as  instructors. 

4.  Thorough  knowledge  of  the  elements  of  field  service. 

5.  Thorough  knowledge  of  interior  guard  duty. 

6.  Skill  in  range  finding  and  in  estimating  distances,  so  as  to 
assist  men  in  firing  accurately, 

7.  Proficiency  in  leading  ))atrols. 

8.  Ability  to  prepare  written  messages  that  are  clear,  complete,  and 
concise. 

9.  Ability  to  sketch  and  read  maps. 

This  list  will  suggest  some  of  the  lines  along  which  you  should 
work  whenever  you  have  the  chance.  Many  of  the  noncommissioned 
officers  in  the  National  Army  will  be  chosen,  not  only  because  of  the 
knowledge  or  skill  they  already  possess,  but  also  because  they  show 
capacity  for  further  development  and  for  leadership. 

DEVELOPING  SOLDIERLY  QUALITIES. 

This  question  of  winning  promotion  all  comes  back  to  the  question 
of  making  yourself  a  thorough  soldier,  of  demonstrating  that  you 
possess  loyalty,  disciplined  obedience,  physical  fitness,  intelligence, 
cleanliness,  cheerfulness,  spirit,  tenacity,  and  self-reliance — the  nine 
qualities  of  a  soldier. 

The  National  Army  must  fit  itself  for  effective  service  at  the  front 
in  the  shortest  possible  time.  To  accomplish  this  result  it  must  pro- 
duce out  of  his  own  ranks  men  who  are  fitted  for  promotion  first  to 
places  as  noncommissioned  officers,  either  in  the  first  contingent  or 
more  probably  in  later  contingents. 

This  need  is  your  ojjportunitv.  It  is  an  apportunity  not  merely  for 
personal  advancement — which  in  time  of  war  is  a  small  thing  to 
work  for — but  more  than  that,  an  opportunity  to  render  to  your 
country  the  most  effective  service  of  which  you  arc  capable.  Strive 
to  fit  yourself  foi"  the  duties  and  responsibilities  of  leadership.  Make 
yourself  count  to  the  utmost  in  the  victorious  defense  of  American 
rights  and  principles  to  which  the  National  Army  will  devote  itself. 


LESSON  NO.  24. 

ARMY    COURTESY. 

You  are  careful  to  observe  the  ordinary  courtesies  in  your  civilian 
life.  You  would  soon  make  yourself  offensive  to  all  your  friends  if 
you  were  in  the  habit  of  passing  them  with  a  cold  stare  or  a  dis- 
courteous nod. 

These  customary  rules  of  good  breeding  apply  in  a  slightly  differ- 
ent form  in  the  Army.  There  is  the  same  reason  for  them  in  the 
Army  as  in  civil  life.  Courtesy  helps  to  make  the  great  Army  ma- 
chine run  more  smoothly.  It  is  the  outward  sign  that  the  right 
relations  exist  among  officers  and  men. 

These  right  relations  should  be  given  expression  both  within  the 
military  camp  and  outside.     "  Courtesy  among  military  men  is  iiidis- 


48 

pensable  to  discipline;  respect  to  superiors  will  not  be  confined  to 
obedience  on  duty,  but  will  be  extended  on  all  occasions."  (Army 
Regulations,  par.  4.)  The  obligation  to  show  proper  courtesy  is 
binding  upon  officers  just  as  well  as  upon  men.  The  commanding 
general  of  the  Army  is  required  to  be  courteous  to  you,  just  as  you 
are  required  to  be  courteous  to  him. 

IMPORTANCE  OF  CORRECT  FORMS. 

Courtesy  among  military  men  is  shown  by  speaking  and  acting  in 
a  respectful  manner.  It  is  shown  also  by  using  the  correct  form  of 
recognition.  This  correct  form  when  meeting  or  addressing  com- 
missioned officers  is  knoAvn  as  the  military  salute. 

In  the  old  days  the  free  men  of  Europe  were  all  allowed  to  carry 
weapons,  and  when  they  met  each  would  hold  up  his  right  hand  to 
show  that  he  had  no  weapon  in  it  and  that  they  met  as  friends. 
Slaves  or  serfs,  however,  were  not  allowed  to  carry  weapons,  and 
slunk  past  the  free  men  without  making  any  sign.  In  this  way  the 
salute  came  to  be  the  symbol  or  sign  by  which  soldiers  (free  men) 
might  recognize  each  other.  The  lower  classes  began  to  imitate  the 
eoldiers  in  this  respect,  although  in  a  clumsy,  apologetic  way,  and 
thence  crept  into  civil  life  the  custom  of  raising  the  hand  or  nodding 
as  one  passed  an  acquaintance.  The  soldiers,  however,  kept  their 
individual  salute,  and  purposely  made  it  intricate  and  difficult  to 
learn  in  order  that  it  could  be  acquired  only  by  the  constant  training 
all  real  soldiers  received. 

To  this  day  armies  have  preserved  their  salute,  and  when  correctly 
done  it  is  at  once  recognized  and  never  mistaken  for  that  of  the 
civilian.  All  soldiers  should  be  careful  to  execute  the  salute  exactly 
as  prescribed.  The  civilian  or  the  imitation  soldier  who  tries  tc 
imitate  the  military  salute  invariably  make-s  some  mistake,  which 
shows  that  he  is  not  a  real  soldier;  he  gives  it  in  an  apolegetic  man- 
ner, he  fails  to  stand  or  march  at  attention,  his  coat  is  unbuttoned  or 
hat  on  awry,  or  he  fails  to  look  the  person  saluted  in  the  eye.  There 
is  a  wide  difference  in  the  method  of  rendering  and  meaning  between 
the  civilian  salute  as  used  by  friends  in  passing,  or  by  servants  to 
their  employers,  and  the  military  salute,  the  symbol  and  sign  of  the 
military  profession.  (Manual  for  Noncommissioned  Officers  and 
Privates,  sec.  6.) 

PROPER  WAY  TO  SALUTE. 

In  order  to  give  the  salute  properly  when  you  are  without  arms, 
first  assume  the  position  of  a  soldier  (as  described  in  a  preceding 
lesson),  or  if  you  are  walking  carry  yourself  at  attention.  Look  the 
officer  you  are  to  salute  straight  in  the  eye.  When  he  is  a  few  paces 
away  from  you  "  raise  the  right  hand  smartly  till  the  tip  of  the  fore- 
finger touches  the  lower  part  of  the  head  dress  or  forehead  above 
the  right  eye,  thumb  and  fingers  extended  and  joined,  palm  to  the 
left,  forearm  inclined  at  about  45°,  hand  and  wrist  straight.  Con- 
tinue to  look  the  officer  you  are  saluting  straight  in  the  eye  and  keep 
your  hand  in  the  position  of  salute  until  the  officer  acknowledges 
the  salute  or  until  he  has  pas.sed.  Then  drop  the  hand  smartly  to  the 
side.    The  salute  is  given  with  the  right  hand  only."     (Manual  for 


49 

Noncommissioned  Officers  and  l^iivates,  sec.  G.)  It  will  be  well  for 
you  to  practice  this  movement  before  the  looking-glass  and  be  pre- 
pared to  execute  it  properly  as  soon  as  you  get  into  uniform.  It  is 
one  of  the  things  that  will  help  to  mark  you  in  the  early  days  in 
camp  as  possessing  the  bearing  of  a  good  soldier.  When  you  get  an 
opportunity,  watch  closely  to  see  how  Regular  Army  men  salute. 
Note  that  your  hat  should  be  on  straight,  coat  completely  buttoned 
up,  and  hands  out  of  the  pockets. 

You  will  learn  the  rifle  salute  after  you  have  reached  the  training 
camp.  In  general,  it  is  used  whenever  you  are  carrying  a  rifle,  ex- 
cept when  on  guard  duty,  in  which  case  you  ordinarily  present  arms 
instead  of  saluting. 

The  exact  conditions  under  which  the  salutes  are  given  need  not  be 
repeated  in  detail  here.  It  is  enough  for  the  present  to  learn  you  are 
to  salute  all  commissioned  officers  (not  merely  those  of  your  own 
company  or  regiment  or  those  with  whom  you  are  acquainted),  ex- 
cept when  you  are  in  a  military  formation  or  when  you  are  at  drill, 
work,  games,  or  mess.  When  in  formation  you  do  not  salute  or  come 
to  the  position  of  attention  unless  an  officer  speaks  to  you. 

OTHER  A«MY   COURTESIES. 

Never  forget  that  it  is  not  only  required  of  you  as  a  duty,  but  is 
also  your  right  and  privilege,  to  salute  all  commissioned  officers  and 
to  have  your  courtesy  returned.  This  statement  assumes,  of  course, 
that  you  are  in  good  standing  as  a  soldier.  A  military  prisoner  is 
not  permitted  to  salute. 

It  is  the  custom  of  the  Army  in  speaking  to  an  officer  to  stand  at 
attention  and  use  the  word  "  sir."  In  all  official  conversation  refer 
to  other  soldiers  by  their  titles — for  example,  "  Sergeant  Smith  "  or 
"  Private  Brown,"  not  merely  "  Smith  "  or  "  Brown." 

When  an  ofTicer  enters  a  room  wliore  there  are  several  enlisted  men  the 
word  "  attention  "  is  given  by  some  one  who  perceives  him,  when  all  rise,  un- 
cover, and  remain  standing  at  attention  until  the  officer  leaves  the  room  or 
directs  otherwise.  Enlisted  men  at  meals  stop  eating  and  remain  seated  at 
attention.     (Infantry  Drill  Regulations,  par.  759.) 

Salutes  are  not  exchanged  among  noncommissioned  officers  and 
enlisted  m-en.  However,  this  does  not  mean  that  you  are  not  to  treat 
them  with  respect  and  courtesy.  In  a  general  way,  show  them  the 
same  consideration  that  you  would  show  to  men  in  corresponding 
positions  in  civil  life. 


LESSON  NO.  25. 
DISCIPLINE  AND  RESPECT  FOR  THE  COLORS. 

All  persons  in  the  military  service  are  required  to  obey  strictly  and  to  execute 
promptly  the  lawful  orders  of  their  superiors.     (Army  Regulations,  par.  1.) 

Discipline  is  not  merely  an  obligation  imposed  upon  you;  it  is  a 
protection  to  you.     Your  superiors,  from  the  commanding  general 

18199°— 17 i 


50 

down,  are  just  as  much  bound  to  respect  the  regulations  of  the  Army 
as  you  are ;  this  includes  respect  for  the  rights  of  every  soldier. 

Military  authority  will  be  exercised  with  firmness,  kindness,  and  justice. 
While  maintaining  discipline  and  the  thorough  and  prompt  performance  of 
military  duty,  all  officers,  in  dealing  with  enlisted  men,  will  bear  in  mind  the 
absolute  necessity  of  so  treating  them  as  to  preserve  their  self-respect.  Officers 
will  keep  in  as  close  touch  as  possible  with  the  men  under  their  command  and 
will  strive  to  build  up  such  relations  of  confidence  and  sympathy  as  will  insure 
the  free  approach  of  their  men  to  them  for  counsel  and  assistance.  This  rela- 
tionship may  be  gained  and  maintained  without  relaxation  of  the  bonds  of 
discipline  and  with  great  benefit  to  the  service  as  a  whole.  (Army  Regulations, 
pars.  2  and  3.) 

NECESSARY  RULE  OF  ARMY   LIFE. 

Discipline  is  the  necessary  rule  of  life  in  the  Army  and  is  not  in 
the  least  inconsistent  with  your  own  pride  and  self-respect  as  a  citizen 
and  a  soldier. 

The  person  whom  you  obey  may  be  an  officer,  a  noncommissioned 
officer,  or  even  another  private  who  has  been  given  authority  to  com- 
mand you.  Whether  you  like  him  or  not  "  you  must  respect  his  posi- 
tion and  authority,  and  reflect  honor  and  credit  on  yourself  and  your 
profession  by  yielding  to  all  superiors  that  complete  and  unhesitating 
obedience  which  is  the  pleasure  as  well  as  the  duty  of  every  true 
soldier."  (Manual  of  Noncommissionecl  Officers  and  Privates, 
P-2.) 

Remember  also  that  there  are  certain- restrictions  upon  the  relations 
of  officers  and  men  which  are  a  necessary  part  of  Army  discipline. 
An  officer,  even  though  in  private  life  he  may  be  your  warm  friend 
and  associate,  is  expected  not  to  mingle  with  you  or  other  men  in  the 
ranks  on  terms  of  familiarity.  This  is  a  rule  that  is  often  far  from 
ngreeable  to  the  officer ;  but  he  has  no  more  power  to  change  it  than 
you  have.  The  reason  is  clear.  An  officer  can  not  mingle  with  the 
men  under  him  on  familiar  terms  without  becoming  better  acquainted 
and  more  friendly  with  some  than  with  others.  He  immediately 
lays  himself  open  to  the  suspicion  of  favoritism — a  suspicion  which 
tends  strongly  to  undermine  respect  and  authority. 

Argument  has  no  place  in  the  Army.  Even  favorable  comment  on 
the  conduct  or  orders  of  superior  officers  is  entirely  out  of  place.  The 
duty  of  officers  and  men  alike  is  to  obey  promptly.  However,  intelli- 
gent suggestions  properly  made  are  always  welcome. 

The  discipline  of  the  Army  is  just  and  impersonal.  You  will 
be  treated  with  fairness.  Your  rights  will  be  respected.  On  your 
part  you  nuist  respect  the  rights  and  authority  conferred  upon  others. 

As  you  advance  in  the  service,  you  will  be  required  to  exact  strict 
obedience  from  others.  If  you  become  a  commissioned  officer  it  will 
be  your  duty  to  maintain  such  relations  with  the  men  under  you  that 
yoii  can  always  treat  them  with  absolute  and  impersonal  justice. 

SALUTING  THE   COLORS. 

The  American  flag  carried  by  a  regiment  is  known  as  the  "colors." 
Tt  is  the  symbol  of  the  Nation  and  is  treated  always  with  the  deepest 
respect.  Another  flag  is  carried  which  is  the  symbol  of  the  regiment 
and  is  knoAvn  as  the  "regimental  colors."  It  is  protected  with  a  de- 
votion second  only  to  that  felt  for  the  national  flag  itself. 


51 

Thousands  of  brave  men  in  previous  wars  have  given  up  their  lives- 
to  save  the  colors  of  their  country  and  their  regiment  from  the 
enemy's  hands.  As  war  is  now  conducted,  it  is  no  longer  practicable, 
as  a  rule,  to  carry  them  into  battle  and  fight  under  their  folds.  But 
they  remain  the  chief  visible  signs  of  the  objects  for  which  every 
soldier  is  willing  to  sacrifice  himself.  It  is  no  wonder  that  the  colors 
are  prized  and  guarded  with  devoted  care. 

Ordinarily  the  colors  when  not  in  use  are  kept  in  the  office  of  the 
colonel  or  in  front  of  his  tent.  During  the  day  when  the  weather 
permits  they  are  displayed  unfurled.  At  night  and  during  rainy 
weather  thej^  are  "  cased,"  whicli  means  that  they  are  furled  and  pro- 
tected by  an  oilcloth  covering. 

Officers  and  men  passing  an  uncased  color  always  honor  it  by 
saluting.  The  manner  of  salute  is  the  same  as  that  previously  de- 
scribed. The  same  rules  of  respect  are  observed  by  men  not  in  for- 
mation when  the  uncased  colors  are  carried  by. 

The  colors  are  escorted  in  parades  or  on  the  march  in  campaigns 
by  a  color  guard,  consisting  of  two  sergeants  who  are  the  color  bear- 
ers and  two  experienced  privates  selected  by  the  colonel.  The  regi- 
mental color  is  always  on  the  left  of  the  national  color. 

THE  NATIONAL  ANTHEM. 

Similar  rules  of  respect  apply  whenever  the  Star-Spangled  Banner 
is  played.  Officers  and  enlisted  men  not  in  formation  stand  at  at- 
tention, facing  toward  the  music  (except  at  "  retreat,"  when  they 
face  toward  the  flag).  They  salute  at  the  first  note  of  the  anthem, 
retaining  the  position  of  salute  until  the  last  note. 

Every  citizen  of  the  United  States,  whether  a  civilian  or  a  soldier, 
should  give  expression  of  his  loyalty  and  devotion  to  his  country  by 
showing  proper  marks  of  respect  for  the  colors  and  for  the  national 
anthem.  When  in  civilian  clothes,  wearing  a  hat  or  cap,  the  correct 
thing  to  do  is  to  remove  it  and  hold  it  in  the  right  hand  opposite  the 
left  shoulder  while  passing  an  uncased  color  or  during  the  playing  of 
the  national  anthem.     If  uncovered,  stand  at  attention. 

The  common  habit  of  rising  slowly,  standing  in  a  slouching  atti- 
tude, and  sometimes  even  carrying  on  conversation,  when  the  na- 
tional anthem  is  played,  is  an  indication  of  gross  ignorance  or  ill 
breeding.  On  the  other  hand,  the  man  who  stands  silent  and  at  at- 
tention is  not  only  showing  proper  respect  and  setting  an  example 
which  will  have  its  effect  on  others,  but  is  also  cultivating  in  himself 
the  feelings  of  pride  and  of  patriotism  which  should  belong  to  every 
citizen  of  the  country. 

It  goes  Avithout  saying  that  disrespect  to  the  American  flag  can 
not  be  tolerated.  If  any  such  instances  come  to  your  attention,  you 
should  report  them  at  once  to  the  proper  nuthorities  in  order  that 
they  may  be  dealt  with  in  accordance  with  the  law. 


LESSON  NO.  26. 

SOME  NATIONAL  TRADITIONS. 

This  course  should  include  a  backward  glance  over  the  military 
history  of  the  United  States.     It  is  worth  while  for  the  soldier  to 


52 

recall  why  and  how  the  men  before  us  fought  for  American  prin- 
ciples and  rights.  You  are  representing  to-day  the  same  ideals  and 
fighting  for  many  of  the  same  things  they  fought  for  in  1776,  1798, 
1812,  1846,  1861,  and  1898. 

In  1776  our  forefathers  refused  any  longer  to  submit  to  the  de- 
mands of  a  tyrannical  government  and  declared  themselves  inde- 
pendent. The  farmers  and  shopkeepers  and  mechanics  and  fisher- 
men who  rushed  to  arms  at  the  beginning  of  the  Revolution  did  not 
at  first  realize  they  were  forming  a  new  Nation.  But  before  long 
they  saw  clearly  that  in  order  to  enjoy  liberty  they  must  shake  off 
the  rule  of  the  autocratic  government  which  had  its  seat  in  London. 

OUR  FIRST  WAR. 

In  their  attitude  they  had  the  sympathy  of  a  great  many  English- 
men who  were  broad  enough  to  see  that  the  American  colonists  were 
really  fighting  for  the  rights  of  all  free  peoples.  In  the  British 
Parliament  Pitt  and  Burke  and  other  great  Englishmen  openly  de- 
fended the  American  patriots.  "  If  I  were  an  American  as  I  am  an 
Englishman,"  said  one  of  the  great  parliamentary  leaders,  "  while  a 
foreign  troop  remained  in  my  country  I  would  never  lay  down  my 
arms."  It  was  not  the  English  people  who  vv^ere  seeking  to  suppress 
liberty  in  America,  but  a  small  body  of  court  politicians — an  auto- 
cratic government — which  misrepresented  the  people. 

The  Americans  of  that  day  on  their  part  did  not  hesitate  to  take 
up  arms  for  their  rights,  even  though  they  came  into  conflict  with 
the  seasoned  troops  of  a  great  power,  even  though  they  had  to  meet 
invasion  and  partial  conquest  of  their  own  country.  Nor  did  they 
long  hesitate  to  break  completely  away  from  the  motherland  which 
many  of  them  still  loved. 

In  1798  we  found  ourselves  in  a  state  of  war  with  the  French 
Government.  This  is  not  usually  thought  of  as  an  American  war, 
since  there  was  no  fighting,  except  for  a  few  encounters  on  the  high 
seas.  There  was  no  declaration  of  war,  and  it  was  all  settled  within 
a  few  months.  Yet  the  fact  is  that  a  state  of  war  actually  existed. 
Here  again  we  had  no  quarrel  with  the  French  people,  whom  we 
admired  and  loved  for  the  help  they  had  given  us  during  the  Revo- 
lution. We  were  really  at  war  v/ith  a  little  group  known  as  the 
Directory,  who  had  seized  the  Government  of  France  and  misrepre- 
sented its  people. 

In  the  War  of  1812  with  Great  Britain  the  principal  question  at 
issue  concerned  the  freedom  of  American  ships  and  the  rights  of 
American  sailors  on  the  high  seas.  For  the  most  part  the  American 
Army  was  poorly  trained  and  equipped  and  had  little  success.  It 
redeemed  itself,  however,  at  the  Battle  of  New  Orleans,  where 
Andrew  Jackson  led  the  western  militia  to  a  well-earned  victory. 
The  British  Government  tacitly  recognized  the  soundness  of  the  prin- 
ciple for  which  the  Americans  fought. 

THE  MEXICAN  WAR. 

America's  next  war  was  with  Mexico.  The  Mexicans  had  not  been 
very  careful  of  American  rights,  either  in  Mexico  itself  or  along  the 


53 

frontier,  and  the  disagreement  as  to  the  ownership  of  a  certain 
large  strip  of  land  along  the  Rio  Grande  easily  led  to  hostilities.  In 
the  war  that  followed  the  armies  of  Scott  and  Taylor  won  victory 
after  victory  against  overv/holniing  odds,  and  eventually  ^lexico 
sued  for  peace.  One  result  of  the  war  was  to  establish  more  definitely 
the  right  of  an  American  citizen  abroad  to  a  reasonable  amount  of 
protection  and  support. 

Less  than  a  generation  later  came  the  great  Civil  War.  Never  was 
the  fighting  spirit  of  the  citizen-soldier  better  shown  than  in  this  un- 
happy and  bitter  stiiiggle,  when  Americans  were  pitted  against 
Americans.  Both  sides  were  fighting  for  principles  of  government, 
the  North  for  the  principle  of  union,  the  South  for  the  principle  of 
the  right  of  States  to  secede  from  that  Union.  To-day,  with  the  war 
a  half  century  behind  them,  there  are  probably  few  Americans,  either 
North  or  South,  who  do  not  rejoice  in  their  hearts  that  the  principle 
of  union  was  upheld  and  that  we  are  able  to-day  to  meet  our  new  foe 
as  a  united  Nation. 

We  entered  the  Spanish  War  to  put  an  end  to  misrule  in  Cuba. 
Again  our  quarrel  was  not  Avith  the  Spanish  people,  but  with  the 
Government,  which  was  creating  conditions  in  Cuba  that  we  could 
not  endure  with  self-respect.  Admiral  Cervera  and  his  men,  who  had 
shown  themselves  brave  foes,  were  received  in  this  country  after  their 
defeat  and  capture  as  guests  rather  than  as  prisoners.  Their  treat- 
ment was  striking  evidence  of  our  real  feeling  toward  the  Spanish 
people.  We  fought  for  the  principle  that  on  the  American  conti- 
nents governmental  tyranny  and  cruelty  must  not  be  permitted  to 
continue,  and  that  principle  was  established. 

FIGHTING   FOR   PRINCIPLES. 

The  Americans  are  peculiarly  a  peace-loving  people.  They  have  no 
taste  for  warfare  and  no  lust  for  territory  or  power.  Yet  within  less 
than  150  years  we  have  entered  six  important  wars,  the  last  and  per- 
haps the  greatest  of  which  is  the  one  just  beginning  against  the  Ger- 
man Government.     Why  has  all  this  warfare  been  necessary? 

The  answer  is  to  be  found  in  the  simple  fact  that  there  are  certain 
American  rights  and  principles  that  must  be  upheld  if  the  United 
States  is  to  remain  a  free  and  self-respecting  Nation.  These  rights 
have  never  been  attacked — and  probably  never  will  be  attacked — by 
other  free  and  democratic  peoples.  But  the  world  is  not  yet  rid  of 
governments  in  the  hands  of  small  groups  who  betray  their  own 
people  and  drive  them  forward  in  ruthless  assaults  on  the  freedom 
and  rights  of  other  peoples.  It  is  a  government  of  this  type  that  now 
menaces  all  liberty-loving  nations  throughout  the  world  and  savagely 
attacks  American  rights. 

In  all  our  previous  wars  against  foreign  ):)owers  the  American  peo- 
ple have  fought  for  principles,  not  for  wealth  or  power,  just  as  they 
are  fighting  to-day.  They  have  fought  against  governments,  not 
against  peoples,  just  as  they  are  fighting  to-day.  They  have  fought 
fearlessly  and  fairly,  just  as  you  and  the  other  American  soldiers  of 
this  war  will  fight. 


54 
LESSON  NO.  27. 

THE  SPIRIT  OF  THE  SERVICE. 

The  spirit  that  dominated  the  American  Armies  at  Bunker  Hill, 
New  Orleans,  Bnena  Vista,  Gettysburg,  and  Santiago  will  just  as 
sureij^  dominate  the  National  Army  on  the  battle  fields  of  Europe. 

This  spirit  is  a  compound.  It  is  made  up  in  part  of  democratic 
feeling,  in  part  of  respect  and  k»ve  for  the  Nation,  and  in  part  of 
Americanism. 

The  United  States  Army  has  always  been  and  will  always  remain 
a  democratic  Army.  Every  man  in  the  Army  is  made  to  feel  that 
his  brains  and  his  individuality  count  for  something.  It  is  not 
merely  a  big,  soulless  machine  that  moves  with  mechanical  precision. 
It  is  a  "  team."  Each  man  in  the  team  is  presumed  to  be  intelligent 
and  self -reliant. 

DEMOCRACY  IN  THE;  ARMY. 

Of  course  there  can  be  no  teamwork  without  regularity  and  strict 
discipline.  This  is  equally  true  of  a  football  or  baseball  team.  There 
must  also  be  various  ranks  and  degrees  of  authority.  And  sometimes 
this  necessary  organization  and  clo^  regulation  creates  an  impres- 
sion that  the  Armj'^  is  not  democratic. 

But  the  fact  of  the  case  is  that  American  soldiers  accept  the  rea- 
sonable discipline  of  the  Army  readily  because  they  have  the  good 
sense  to  realize  that  these  things  are  necessary.  They  accept  them 
without  losing  in  the  least  their  real  independence  as  free  citizens. 

Furthermore,  American  armies  are  democratic  because  the  path 
of  promotion  is  wide  open.  Any  man  who  has  a  reasonable  amount 
of  ability  can  practice,  can  study,  can  cultivate  the  qualities  of  a 
soldier  and  a  leader,  and  can  work  his  way  up.  And  this  is  the  real 
test  of  a  democi'atic  army. 

In  a  special  sense  the  National  Army  is  democratic.  A  great  dem- 
ocracy must  always  carry  on  its  affairs  through  chosen  representa- 
tives. You  are  doubtless  familiar  with  this  principle  as  it  is  applied 
ill  time  of  peace.  No"\v  it  is  applied  in  time  of  war.  Through  a 
process  of  fair  selection  the  National  Army  has  been  picked  to  repre- 
sent all  parts  of  the  country  and  all  groups  of  the  people.  Never  has 
America  sent  forth  an  army  so  truly  representative  of  the  Nation. 

There  are  always  pessimists  in  every  generation  who  insist  that 
patriotism  is  dea-d  or  at  least  decaying.  They  have  not  been  lacking 
in  recent  years.  Then  comes  a  crisis  such  as>  now  confronts  us.  And 
always  the  question  of  patriotism  is  answered  b\^  a  free  outpouring 
of  effort,  money,  and  blood  on  the  part  of  citizens  od  all  types  in  every 
section  of  the  country.  This  is  exaQtly  wliat  is  now  going  on — and 
what  will  continue  to  go  on  with  increasing  force  until  the  war  is 
brought  to  a  victorious  end. 

EVERYBODY  MUST   HELP. 

Every  citizen  of  the  United  States  now  has  or  will  have  certain 
duties  to  perform,  certain  sacrifices  to  make.  The  burden  does  not 
rest  wholly  \\\xm  you  and  other  men  who  take  up  arms.  It  rests  in 
part  alao  upon  the  men  and  women  who  stay  behind.    For  modern 


55 

war  on  a  big  scale  demands  that  the  whole  Nation,  in  a  sense,  should 
go  to  war.  The  tasks  re(iuired  of  some  may  he  harder  than  the  tasks 
required  of  others,  but  all  of  tliem  are  necessary  in  order  to  make 
sure  of  the  result. 

Many  manufacturers  and  workers — often  women  as  well  as  men — 
must  give  up  their  own  work  and  plans  in  order  to  produce  war 
supplies.  Those  who  remain  where  they  now  are — because  they  are 
engaged  in  some  occupation  just  as  necessary  in  war  as  in  peace,  such 
as  farming,  mining,  running  railroads,  and  the  like — must  go  at  their 
work  with  redoubled  energy  and  without  expecting  profits  for  them- 
selves; it  would  be  a  gre^it  mistake  if  everyone  were  taken  away  fi-ouv 
these  necessary  lines  of  etiort  in  order  to  join  the  colors  as  a  soldier. 
All  must  carry  a  hea\y  burden  of  taxation. 

Certain  men — among  whom  you  are  one — ^have  been  or  will  be 
chosen  as  rejn-esentatives  of  the  Nation  to  defend  our  rights  and 
safety  on  the  battlefield.  You  and  your  fellow  soldiers  are  selected 
from  the  young  men  of  the  country  who  are  best  fitted  for  military 
service. 

This  process  of  organizing  the  whole  Nation  for  war  can  not,  of 
course,  be  completed  in  a  day.  But  it  is  steadily  going  on.  It  will 
necessarily  go  on  until  the  end  of  the  war.  You  will  have  back  of 
you  and  supporting  you  the  whole  country — all  its  people  and  all  its 
wealth.  Congress  spoke  the  will  of  the  Nation  in  the  declaration  of 
war :  "  To  bring  the  conflict  to  a  successful  termination  all  the  re- 
sources of  the  country  are  hereby  pledged.'' 

THE  POST  OF  HIGHEST  HONOR. 

The  patriotic  spirit  which  moves  the  whole  country  will  find  its 
highest  expression  in  its  soldiers — the  men  who  are  assigned  to  the 
post  of  danger  and  of  honor.  They  will  go  all  the  more  willingly 
since  they  know  that  behind  them  the  whole  Nation  is  organizing  for 
the  national  service.  Their  spirit  will  be  one  of  patriotic  devotion 
fully  as  intense  as  that  of  American  armies  in  previous  wars. 

The  spirit  of  democracy  and  of  patriotism  is  to  be  found  also  in 
the  armies  of  other  nations  fighting  against  German  aggression.  In 
addition  the  National  Army  will  have  its  own  spirit  of  Americanism. 
It  will  have  American  enthusiasm,  good  humor,  fairness  even  to  the 
enemy,  and  self-confidence.  It  will  go  at  its  work  not  half-heartedly 
but  with  a  vim.  If  there  are  temporary  setbacks  it  will  accept  them 
and  keep  on  "  plugging.''  These  are  some  of  the  American  traditions 
that  will  enter  into  the  spirit  of  the  National  Army. 

Fighting  in  that  spirit  and  with  the  full  strength  of  the  country 
to  back  it  up,  the  United  States  Army  can  not  fail  to  achieve  its  ob- 
jects. "Once  more  we  shall  make  good  with  our  lives  and  fortunes 
the  great  faith  to  which  we  were  born,  and  a  new  glory  shall  shine  in 
the  face  of  our  people." 

LESSON  NO.  28. 

WHY  WE  FIGHT. 

Every  American  knoAvs  the  causes  of  our  war  with  the  German 
Government.  Yet  this  course  would  be  incomplete  if  it  did  not  con- 
tain a  brief  review  of  the  events  that  finally  forced  us  into  war,  when 
at  last  there  remained  "  no  other  means  of  defending  our  rights." 


56 

The  soldier  of  an  autocratic  kaiser  may  fight  best  when  he  under- 
stands least  of  the  true  meaning  of  the  war.  To  tell  him  the  facts 
would  be  to  chill  his  enthusiasm.  But  the  citizen  soldier  of  a  democ- 
racy is  entitled  to  know  for  what  purposes  he  enters  the  struggle.  He 
fights  best  when  he  sees  most  clearly  why  he  fights. 

The  resolution  of  Congress  declaring  a  state  of  Avar  (Apr.  6,  1917) 
expresses  the  immediate  cause  in  these  few  words: 

The  Impoiial  German  Government  has  committed  repeated  acts  of  war  against 
the  Government  and  the  people  of  the  United  States  of  America. 

Chief  among  the  acts  of  war  were  attacks  by  German  submarines 
on  American  ships  and  on  unarmed  merchant  ships  of  other  nations 
carrying  American  passengers.  "  Vessels  of  every  kind,"  said  the 
President  in  his  address  to  Congress  on  April  2, 1917,  "  whatever  their 
fiag,  their  character,  their  cargo,  their  destination,  their  errand,  have 
been  ruthlessly  sent  to  the  bottom  without  warning  and  without 
thought  of  help  or  mercy  for  those  on  board,  the  vessels  of  friendly 
neutrals  along  with  those  of  belligerents.  Even  hospital  ships  and 
ships  carrying  relief  to  the  sorely  bereaved  and  stricken  people  of 
Belgium,  though  the  latter  were  provided  with  safe  conduct  through 
the  prescribed  areas  by  the  German  Government  itself  and  were  dis- 
tinguished by  unmistakable  marks  of  identity,  have  been  sunk  with 
the  same  reckless  lack  of  compassion  or  of  principle  *  *  *.  The 
present  German  submarine  warfare  against  commerce  is  a  warfare 
against  mankind." 

GERMAN  INSULTS  AND  AGGRESSIONS, 

There  were  other  acts  of  hostility  in  addition  to  the  submarine 
warfare.  In  his  Flag  Day  address,  delivered  at  Washington  on 
June  14,  1917,  the  President  summed  up  the  events  that  brought  on 
war,  as  follows: 

It  is  plain  enough  how  we  were  forced  into  the  war.  The  extraordinary 
insults  and  aggressions  of  the  Imperial  German  Government  left  us  no  self- 
respecting  choice  but  to  take  up  arms  in  defense  of  our  rights  as  a  free  people 
and  of  our  honor  as  a  sovereign  Government.  The  military  masters  of  Germany 
denied  us  the  right  to  be  neutral.  They  tilled  our  unsuspecting  communities 
with  vicious  spies  and  conspirators  and  sought  to  corrupt  the  opinion  of  our 
people  in  their  own  behalf.  When  they  found  that  they  could  not  do  that  their 
agents  diligently  spread  sedition  amongst  us  and  sought  to  draw  our  own 
citizens  from  their  allegiance — and  some  of  those  agents  were  men  connected 
with  the  official  embassy  of  the  German  Government  itself  here  in  our  Capital. 
They  sought  by  violence  to  destroy  our  industries  and  arrest  our  conunerce. 
They  tried  to  incite  Mexico  to  take  up  arms  against  us  and  to  draw  Japan  into 
a  hostile  alliance  with  her — and  that  not  by  indirection  but  by  suggestion  from 
the  foreign  office  in  Berlin.  They  impudenLly  denied  us  the  use  of  the  high 
seas  and  repeatedly  executed  their  threat  that  tliey  would  send  to  their  death 
any  of  our  people  who  ventured  to  approach  the  coasts  of  Europe. 

OUR  LIBERTY  AND  SAFETY  INVOLVED. 

Yet  even  this  list  of  "  extraordinary  insults  and  aggressions " 
does  not  tell  the  whole  story.  Our  motives  for  Avar  go  even  deeper. 
Not  only  our  rights  and  self-respect,  but  our  liberty  and  safety,  are 
involved.  Speaking  on  July  29^  1917,  at  the  officers'  training  camp 
at  Madison  Barracks,  N.  Y.,  the  Secretary  of  State  said : 

The  evil  character  of  the  German  Governnient  is  laid  bare  before  the  world. 
We  know  now  that  that  Government  is  inspired  with  ambitions  which  menace 


57 

hnraan  liberty,  and  that  to  gain  its  eiul  it  does  not  hesitate  to  break  faith,  to 
violate  the  most  sacred  rij^hts,  or  to  perpetrate  intolr-nible  acts  of  inhumanity. 
*  *  *  Let  us  undersiand  onco  for  all  that  this  is  no  war  to  establish  an 
abstract  principle  of  right.  It  is  a  war  in  which  the  future  of  the  United 
States  is  at  stake. 

The  record  out  of  which  grows  our  deep  conviction  that  it  is  neces- 
sary at  once  to  put  a  curb  on  so  powerful  and  unscrupulous  an  enemy 
is  set  forth  in  a  publication  ollicially  issued  by  the  Committee  on 
i'ublic  Information,  "  How  the  war  came  to  America." 

Judging  the  German  Government  now  in  the  light  of  our  honest  attempt  to 
keep  the  peace,  we  could  see  the  great  autocracy  and  read  her  record  through 
the  war.  And  we  found  that  record  damnable.  *  *  *  With  a  fauiitlcal 
faith  in  the  destiny  of  German  kultur  as  the  system  that  must  rule  the  v.orld, 
I  he  Imperial  Government's  actions  have  through  years  of  boasting,  double- 
dealing,  and  deceit  tended  toward  aggression  upon  the  rights  of  others;  and 
ii'  there  still  be  any  doubt  as  to  which  nation  began  this  war,  there  can  he  uo 
uncertainty  as  to  which  one  was  most  prepared,  most  exultant  at  the  chance, 
and  ready  instantly  to  march  upon  other  nations — even  those  who  had  given 
no  offen.se.  The  wholesale  depredations  and  hideous  atrocities  in  Belgium  and 
in  Serbia  were  doubtless  part  and  parcel  with  the  Imperial  Government's  pur- 
pose to  terrorize  small  nations  into  abject  submission  for  generations  to  come. 
But  in  this  autocracy  has  been  blind,  for  its  record  in  those  countries  and  in 
PoUuul  and  in  northern  France  has  given  not  only  to  the  allies  but  to  liberal 
peoples  throughout  the  world  the  conviction  that  this  menace  to  human  liberties 
must  be  utterly  shorn  of  its  power  for  harm. 

For  the  evil  it  has  effected  has  ranged  tar  out  of  Europe — out  \ipon  the  open 
seas,  where  its  submarines  in  defiance  of  law  and  the  concepts  of  humanity  have 
blown  up  neutral  ves.sels  and  covered  the  waves  with  the  dead  and  llie  dying, 
men  and  women  and  children  alike.  Its  agents  have  conspired  again.st  tlie  peace 
of  neutral  nations  everywhere,  sowing  the  seeds  of  dissension,  cca.selessly 
endeavoring  by  tortuous  methods  of  deceit,  of  bribery,  fal.se  promises,  and 
intimidation,  to  stir  up  bi'other  nations  one  against  the  other,  in  order  that  the 
liberal  world  might  not  be  able  to  unite,  in  order  that  the  autocracy  might 
emerge  from  the  war. 

All  this  we  know  from  our  own  experience  with  the  Imperial  Government. 
As  they  have  dealt  with  Europe,  so  have  they  dealt  with  us  and  with  all  man- 
kind. And  so  out  of  the.se  years  the  conviction  has  gi-own  that  until  the 
(ierman  Nation  is  divested  of  such,  democracy  can  not  be  safe. 

NOT  HOSTILE  TO   GERMAN  PEOPLE, 

One  thought  which  you  should  keep  always  in  mind  is  the  clear 
distinction  between  our  attitude  toward  the  Imperial  German  Gov- 
ernment and  our  attitude  toward  the  German  people.  The  President 
said  in  his  speech  of  June  14,  1917 : 

We  are  not  the  enemies  of  the  German  people  and  they  are  not  our  enemies. 
They  did  not  originate  or  desire  this  hideous  war  or  wish  that  we  should  be 
drawn  into  it ;  and  we  are  vaguely  conscious  tliat  we  are  fighting  their  cause, 
as  they  will  some  day  .see  it,  as  well  as  our  own.  They  are  themselves  in  the 
grip  of  the  same  sinister  power  that  has  now  at  last  stretched  its  ugly  talons 
out  ,and  drawn  blood  from  us. 

Every  American  soldier  in  this  war  fights  for  objects  dearer  to  all 
of  us  than  life  itself — for  freedom  and  democracy,  for  the  safety  of 
our  own  homes  and  families,  for  the  honor  of  our  country.  You 
will  think  often  of  these  objects  during  your  period  of  training  and 
after  you  actually  enter  the  trenches.  The  more  j'^ou  think  about 
them,  the  greater  Avill  be  your  pride  that  you  are  one  of  those  first 
chosen  to  defend  them. 

The  world  must  he  made  safe  for  democracy. 


58 

LESSON  NO.  29. 
WARFARE   IN   EUROPE. 

In  previous  sections  of  this  course  army  life  and  service  have  been 
described  without  special  reference  to  the  changes  brought  about  by 
the  present  war.  There  are  important  changes,  and  methods  of  train- 
ing and  of  fighting  used  in  previous  wars  must,  of  course,  be  modified 
accordingly. 

The  extent  of  these  changes,  however,  is  often  exaggerated.  At 
bottom  the  qualities  that  make  a  good  soldier  or  an  efficient  army  re- 
main the  same  to-day  that  they  were  before  the  war.  The  changes 
that  affect  the  individual  soldier  have  to  do  chiefly  with  weapons. 

But  behind  every  weapon  there  is  a  man.  If  the  weapon  is  to  be 
used  effectively,  the  man  must  be  well  trained,  disciplined,  cool,  and 
brave.  He  must  have  spirit,  tenacity,  and  self-reliance.  The  big 
problem  now,  just  as  in  all  other  wars,  is  to  develop  these  qualities — 
and  the  other  soldierly  qualities — to  their  highest  extent.  The  chief 
difference  probably  comes  in  the  fact  that  self-reliance  is  a  bigger 
factor  than  in  most  previous  wars.  And  in  American  Armies  this 
quality  has  always  been  highly  valued  and  well  developed. 

This  brief  lesson  can  not,  of  course,  enter  into  a  discussion  of  tech- 
nical questions  which  belong  in  the  field  of  military  science.  It  will 
simply  point  out  a  few  of  the  striking  features  of  direct  interest 
to  every  man  who  reaches  the  front. 

CHARACTER  OF  PRESENT  WAR. 

This  war  differs  from  previous  wars  chiefly  in  the  enormous  in- 
crease in  the  use  of  artillery.  This  is  due  partly  to  the  immense  man- 
ufacturing resources  of  the  countries  at  war,  which  enables  them  to 
produce  great  numbers  of  guns  and  great  quantities  of  ammunition. 
It  is  due  also  to  the  new  methods  of  directing  gunfire  from  air- 
planes. It  is  evident  that  a  gun  can  not  be  accurately  aimed  at  an 
object  the  exact  location  of  which  is  unknown.  The  airplane,  how- 
ever, is  able  to  bring  back  or  signal  back  this  information,  so  that 
the  artillery  msbj  now  be  used  with  much  greater  effect.  The  size  of 
the  guns  and  the  force  of  the  explosive  shells  fired  from  them  have 
also  been  largely  increased. 

Partly  as  a  result  of  these  improvements  in  artillery,  it  has  been 
necessary  to  develop  better  methods  of  protection.  The  protection 
of  troops  consists  of  digging  stronger  field  entrenchments  than  have 
been  necessary  in  previous  wars.  Here  we  have  the  main  reason  for 
the  so-called  "  trench  warfare,"  which,  during  the  last  three  years, 
has  largely  taken  the  place  of  former  methods  of  moving  armies 
about  freely  until  they  came  into  conflict  with  each  other.  Digging 
trenches  and  throwing  up  breastworks  for  protection  against  the 
enemy's  fire  is,  of  course,  not  a  new  thing  in  warfare.  It  is  being 
done  in  Europe,  however,  on  a  much  bigger  scale  than  ever  before. 
A  com])licated  network  of  trenches  now  protects  the  men  on  both 
sides.  The  spade  has  become  one  of  the  soldier's  best  weapons  of  de- 
fense. 

In  seeking  protection  against  heavy  ai'tillery  fire  a  very  interesting 
development  has  taken  place.    This  is  the  use  of  various  devices  for 


59 

concealing  field  gnns  and  troops  from  the  view  of  enemy  airplanes. 
Sometimes  trees  are  brought  up  and  })lanted  near  the  object  to  be 
hidden.  Sometimes  the  gun  or  other  object  has  an  awning  spread 
over  it  which  is  painted  to  look  from  above  like  grass  or  earth.  For 
the  same  I'eason  tents  may  be  painted  in  greens  and  yellows. 

The  chief  improvement  in  metliods  of  defending  entrenched  troops 
is  the  increased  use  of  machine  guns.  Machine  guns  must  be  put  out 
of  operation  by  artillery  fire  or  by  rifle  fii-e  directed  against  the 
gunners  before  infantry  can  advance  directly  against  them.  There 
has  been  also  a  great  increase  during  the  present  war  in  the  use  of 
barbed  wire  in  front  of  the  trenches  as  a  means  of  defense.  Similar 
devices  have  been  used  in  entrenched  positions  for  many  years,  but 
never  on  so  large  a  scale.  Through  their  use  it  is  now  known  to  be 
possible  to  defend  the  front-line  positions  with  smaller  bodies  of  men 
than  were  considered  necessary  during  the  earlier  years  of  the  war, 
thus  considerably  reducing  the  strain  on  the  individual  soldier. 

DEVELOPMENT  OF  AIRPLANES. 

The  chief  new  instrument  of  warfare  developed  during  the  present 
war  is  the  airplane.  As  previously  explained,  it  is  used  for  scouting, 
directing  gunfire,  and  dropping  bombs.  The  scouting  machine  is 
usually  equipped  with  a  large  camera  which  takes  a  series  of  pictures. 
AVhen  these  pictures  are  developed  and  compared  day  by  claj'^  they 
give  invaluable  information  as  to  the  exact  location  of  troops,  gnins, 
and  supplies.  The  scouting  and  bombing  machines  are  usually  pro- 
tected by  swift  fighting  machines.  Airplanes  have  also  been  used 
at  times  to  descend  close  to  the  ground  and  fire  from  a  machine  gun 
upon  bodies  of  troops. 

Another  very  interesting  and  promising  device  is  the  "tank" — a 
heavily  armored  machine  so  constructed  that  it  can  advance  under 
its  own  power  over  almost  any  obstacles,  and  thus  lead  an  attack  on 
enemy  trenches.  It  is  armed  with  machine  guns.  Armored  motor 
cars  have  also  been  used  effectively  under  some  conditions. 

In  the  front  line  trenches  men  are  often  armed  not  only  with 
rifle  and  bayonet,  but  also  with  bombs  which  can  be  thrown  by  hand 
or  by  machine.  Some  of  them  are  no  larger  than  an  ordinary  lemon. 
Man3^  men  become  extraordinarily  expert  in  throwing  these  small 
bombs  into  enemy  trenches.  They  even  become  expert  in  picking  up 
enemy  bombs  before  they  explode  and  throwing  them  back. 

Another  weapon  of  the  trenches  introduced  by  the  Germans,  in 
spite  of  international  agreements  to  the  contrary,  is  poisonous  gas. 
This  was  at  first  very  effective,  since  no  defense  against  it  had  been 
prepared.  At  the  present  time,  however,  each  man  in  or  near  the 
front  carries  a  gas  mask,  which  enables  him  to  meet  an  attack  of  this 
kind  without  serious  injury. 

WONDERFUL   STAFF   ORGANIZATIONS. 

Back  of  the  lines  the  organization  of  the  staff  branches  of  the  serv- 
ice has  been  enormously  extended.  Railroads  are  constriicted  up  to 
within  a  short  distance  of  the  front.  Transport  of  supplies  and  am- 
munition by  motor  trucks  has  been  organized  on  a  big  scale.    The 


60 

medical  departments  have  also  made  notable  gains  in  methods  of 
treating  wounded  men,  with  the  result  that  a  very  large  percentage 
recover.  Even  in  the  early  months  of  the  war  it  was  announced  that 
of  the  wounded  actually  treated  in  French  hospitals  54.5  per  cent 
v/ere  returned  to  duty  within  a  short  time;  24.5  per  cent  were  sent 
home  to  complete  their  recovery  and  later  returned  to  duty;  17  per 
cent  at  the  time  of  making  the  report  were  still  in  hospitals,  with  the 
probability  of  complete  recovery;  1.5  per  cent  were  unfit  for  further 
service ;  2.5  per  cent  had  died  from  the  effects  of  their  wounds. 

There  is  probably  little  basis  for  the  idea  that  the  number  of  cas- 
ua,lties  in  this  war  is  any  greater,  in  proportion  to  the  number  of 
men  engaged,  than  in  previous  wars.  In  the  French  Army  during 
the  last  six  months  of  191G  (which  included  three  big  offensives)  the 
total  losses  in  killed,  wounded,  and  prisoners  are  officially  reported 
to  have  been  only  1.28  per  cent  of  the  French  forces  under  arms. 

One  of  the  striking  features  of  the  war  is  the  proof  that  has  been 
given  of  courage  and  devotion  to  duty  on  the  part  of  men  of  all 
nations.  As  soldiers  we  must  honor  and  strive  to  emulate  the  heroic 
bravery  of  those  who  are  fighting  the  battle  for  democracy  and  free- 
dom. As  soldiers  we  must  recognize  also  the  skill  and  courage  of 
the  enemy,  even  though  they  are  shown  in  a  bad  cause.  Nothing  is 
gained  by  belittling  the  enemy.  It  is  our  place  rather  to  see  to  it 
that  we  develop  among  ourselves  a  still  higher  degree  of  the  intelli- 
gence, spirit,  tenacity,  and  self-reliance  which  alone  can  win  victories. 

The  war  is  Europe  has  brought  forth  changes  and  improvements, 
such  as  those  just  described,  to  which  the  soldiers  of  the  National 
Army  must  quickly  adjust  themselves;  but  it  has  not  changed  in  the 
least  the  qualities  of  body,  mind,  and  heart,  which  in  the  long  run 
are  always  the  greatest  of  all  factors  in  warfare. 


LESSON  NO.  30. 

THE  SOLDIER  IN  BATTLE. 

The  average  civilian,  no  matter  how  brave  he  may  be,  has  little 
desire  to  go  into  battle.  Even  though  he  knows  very  well  that  the 
chances  of  his  being  killed  or  severely  Avounded  are  comparatively 
small,  yet  the  thought  of  placing  himself  in  a  post  of  danger  face  to 
face  with  a  well-trained  and  courageous  enemy  is  more  or  less  terrify- 
ing to  him. 

This  state  of  mind  is  entirely  natural.  Every  man  goes  through  it. 
The  bravest  soldiers  of  the  Civil  War  and  of  all  wars  testify  to  their 
dread  of  entering  battle;  but  this  is  a  feeling  that  can  be  conquered 
even  by  a  man  who  is  physically  timid.  It  is  related  that  a  veteran 
soldier  was  observed  by  one  of  his  comrades  just  before  the  Battle  of 
Seven  Oaks  to  be  white  and  trem})ling  and  was  reproached  with  being 
scared.  "  Yes,"  he  replied,  "  If  you  were  one-half  as  scared  as  I  am, 
you'd  be  making  a  dash  for  the  rear."  Ninety  per  cent  of  the  men 
now  fighting  so  dauntlessly  in  pjurope  have  doubtless  passed  through 
a  similar  experience  and  hold  themselves  in  the  path  of  duty  only 
through  mastery  of  their  physical  fears. 


61 

GROWTH  OF  SELF-CONFIDENCE. 

As  a  man's  military  training  progresses  his  body  becomes  stronger 
and  therefore  better  able  to  stand  strain  and  intense  activity.  He 
grows  accustomed  to  the  noise  of  heavy  firing.  He  gets  practice  in 
handling  his  rifle  and  his  bay(jnet  with  skill,  so  that  he  becomes  confi- 
dent of  liis  ability  to  defend  himself.  He  learns  how  to  advance  over 
ground  apparently  swept  by  bullets  without  exposing  himself  to 
really  effective  fire.  He  grows  used  to  the  idea  of  meeting  enemies 
face  to  face  in  battle. 

All  your  traiuing  as  a  soldier  will  work  toward  putting  you  into 
condition  to  meet  the  test  of  battle  when  the  time  comes  with  true 
American  spirit — with  the  intelligence  and  courage  that  make  even- 
tual victory  certain. 

l^rivate  soldiers  are  not  required  to  study  tactical  problems.  These 
are  solved  by  the  higher  officers.  But  every  man  should  thoroughly 
understand  the  following  elementary  principles  of  combat: 

1.  The  offensive  wins. 

2.  Battles  are  won  by  the  individual  soldier.  It  is  emphatically 
"  up  to  "  him.  Splendid  leadership  and  fine  equipment  are  of  avail 
only  when  each  private  does  his  utmost. 

3.  Victory  depends  more  on  nerve  and  fighting  spirit  than  on  the 
best  weapons  and  armor  in  the  world. 

IMPORTANCE  OF  THE  ATTACK. 

Defensive  action  alone  never  wins  victories.  The  army  which  suc- 
ceeds must  be  ready  and  anxious  to  attack.  There  are  many  ad- 
vantages in  taking  the  offensive.  The  destruction  of  hostile  trenches 
by  heavy  bombardment  preceding  the  attack  weakens  the  enemy's 
spirit  and  sometimes  leads  to  the  surrender  of  men  who  are  in  no 
condition  to  withstand  assault.  The  chief  advantage,  however,  is 
the  fact  that  the  attacking  side  chooses  its  own  time  and  place  to 
strike,  forcing  the  enemy  to  readjust  his  defenses  accordingly. 

It  is  always  possible  in  battle  for  good  infantry  to  "  defeat  an 
enemy  greatly  superior  in  numbers,  but  lacking  in  training,  discipline, 
leadership,  and  morale."  (Infantry  Drill  Regulations,  par,  354.) 
In  another  place  in  the  Regulations  it  is  well  remarked  that  "  modern 
war  requires  but  one  kind  of  infantry — good  infantry."  Remember, 
too,  in  this  connection  another  statement  in  the  Regulations,  which 
has  been  previously  quoted,  to  the  effect  that  discipline  "  is  the  dis- 
tinguishing mark  of  trained  troops." 

All  these  remarks  tend  toward  one  conclusion,  namely,  that  the  dis- 
cipline of  the  army  is  a  big  factor  in  giving  men  the  tenacity  which 
enables  them  to  go  into  battle  with  dauntless  courage  and  to  win  vic- 
tories. Discipline  can  accomplish  wonders  even  among  men  who  are 
naturally  lacking  in  brains  and  self-reliance.  It  can  accomplish  a 
great  deal  more,  however,  among  those  who  possess  these  natural 
qualities. 

Men  who  are  thoroughly  disciplined,  and  yet  within  the  limits  of 
discipline  possess  the  priceless  quality  of  initiative,  make  ideal  sol- 
diers. They  are  the  men  who  can  always  be  trusted  to  pull  them- 
selves out  of  tight  places,  to  carry  attacks  through  until  success  is 
won,  to  hold  out  against  all  odds. 


62 

MAKING  YOURSELF  A  REAL  SOLDIER. 

Men  of  this  type  will  be  found  in  the  National  Army — tens  of 
thousands  of  them.  If  you  have  made  up  your  mind  to  be  one  of 
them,  see  that  you  enter  into  your  training  with  vigor  and  interest. 
Make  yourself  a  thorough  soldier  in  the  quickest  possible  time. 
Learn  to  obey  orders  without  fear  or  question.  At  the  same  time 
remember  to  carry  out  those  orders  with  true  intelligence  and  self- 
reliance. 

Within  the  next  few  months  the  National  Army  will  be  formed 
into  a  splendid  body  of  troops  filled  with  a  spirit  of  loyalty  and  of 
enthusiasm  for  our  just  cause,  efficient  from  top  to  bottom,  in  which 
every  man  will  be  fitted  and  ready  to  do  his  duty.  Such  an  Army 
backed  by  all  the  resources  of  the  country — resources  of  men,  of 
money,  and  of  materials  practically  without  limit — is  bound  to  go 
forward  to  victory.  There  may  be  temporary  reverses  and  periods 
of  gloom,  as  in  all  other  wars;  but  in  the  end  victory  must  and  will 
be  won. 

This  is  the  object  toward  which  all  your  training  is  to  be  directed. 
Put  into  that  training  all  your  own  earnestness  and  energy.  Fit 
yourself  to  wear  with  pride  and  credit  the  uniform  of  an  American 
citizen-soldier. 

This  is  the  road  of  honor  and  of  real  service  to  the  Nation. 

o 


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university  o  CaUfom^a 
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LOS  ANGELES,  CAL«>-^  borrowed. 

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